The Darcsen Calamity
by Craig Wesson
Summary: Elysse finds and unlikely partner in Hector when he transfers into her squad and a seemingly innocent darcsen sniper leads them both down roads no soldier should have to travel.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: A while back I decided to give Valkyria Chronicles a break and write for other genre's, but it seems like VC is the only thing that inspires me. I'm still going to try and write for other games and shows now that the Independent Film I've been working on is finished, but I'll see what I can come up with. Thank you very much for reading.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria Chronicles or its characters_

* * *

_**CHAPTER ONE**_

* * *

The evening plains of Barious were decorated with burned out tanks and dead soldiers, Gallian tanks and soldiers mostly. The militia was well known for its many successes, but even a juggernaut like itself suffered setbacks now and again. Guided by the light of burning vehicles, a small Imperial detachment navigated the destruction.

Elysse Moore watched from under a knocked-out tank as the Imperial scouting party made their way towards her location. It looked like one tank accompanied by a handful of soldiers. After the battle went south, the militia scrambled to fall back. Elysse was unfortunate enough to get left behind in the chaos. The Imperial force that had crushed them had moved on, so the young lancer suspected the detachment in front of her was on clean-up duty. She wiped the mud from her face and looked at the lance beside her. It didn't have a rocket.

Elysse worried about her next move. By sheer bad luck, the tank was heading right for her, its searchlight crawling across the ground. Sweat running down her face, she slowly began inching backwards, if she could get out from under the tank, she stood a chance. Half her body was out.

"Stop!"

Her heart froze; it looked like she wouldn't be getting back to her squad after all. She slowly got out from under the tank and flipped onto her back, hands up. Two Imperial soldiers greeted her. Both had rifles on her and their faces were hard to make out in the night.

"Gallian Militia?" asked one of the soldiers.

"N-No!" said Elysse while smiling and waving her hands, "I-I just like wearing the uniform."

It was a pathetic lie and she knew it, but her mind did strange things when under pressure. One of the Imperials motioned with his rifle.

"Don't be a coward, get up."

Elysse couldn't, her muscles paralyzed with fear.

"I said get up, now!"

The sharp crack of a rifle shot echoed in the distance. The impact of the bullet sent one of the Imperials flying into the side of the tank. The second soldier fell to the ground, but Elysse suspected it was on purpose to avoid being shot. Elysse was being covered by someone, she had one chance.

She jumped up and ran as fast as she could across the dusty desert floor. The surviving Imperial shouted at her to stop. She ignored him, but prayed that it wouldn't result in her death.

"Get down!" Another soldier suddenly popped up in front of her. Elysse tripped and fell in surprise. It was a Gallian, and with a single shot he dispatched the remaining Imperial behind her.

Elysse got back up and met the rugged face of a male Gallian soldier, his rifle steaming and bandanna blowing about.

"Are you alright?!"

"Yes!" replied Elysse, "But we can't stay - "

Elysse was cut off by the explosion of a tank shell meters from her location.

"Come on!" shouted the male soldier, "Our line is this way!"

Elysse ran without hesitation, but asked, "Who are you? Are you with the militia?!"

"Damn strait! The name's Hector Calvey! "

Another tank shell screamed by, the shock of its impact made Elysse's legs tremble.

"My name is Elysse Moore! I'm in Squad 8!"

"I know! So am I! I was sent to find you!"

"What? But you can't be in squad 8!"

Hector ducked while running trying to dodge the bullets coming his way, "Why not?!"

"W-Well, because…you're a man!"

Her last word was almost cut off by another exploding tank shell.

_____

Elysse ran until she felt her legs would fall off. The militia had regrouped some distance back from the engagement, miles it seemed like. Sandbags marked the edge of the militia encampment which was a rickety pizza of tents, soldiers and hastily-dug trenches. Elysse heaved and collapsed onto the nearest sandbag while Hector took a knee.

"No…more…running," Elysse panted.

Hector growled from the ground, "Then fall back with the rest of your squad next time! Or show some guts and deal with it."

Elysse got up and whined at the man she'd just met, "What? You don't know anything you jerk! I volunteered to stay behind! I was the only lancer left!"

Hector got back up, "Lancers don't have the mobility to be the last ones off the field. Covering retreats is scout work."

"Oh, and you're an expert on Lancers?"

"Yes, that's because I am one."

Elysse winced, feeling stupid for not suspecting Hector was a lancer himself.

"I've been a lancer in my town watch before this war even started."

Elysse was tired of arguing, mostly because she was losing, so she changed the subject, "What's all this about you being in squad 8? My squad leader takes only women."

Hector went to open his mouth, but a darcsen shocktrooper named Lynn spoke first. She had snuck up on them both.

"Because I saved him in this last engagement like he saved you."

Hector crossed his arms facing Elysse, "My squad is done for, it's being chopped up and folded into other units."

Lynn smiled, "And I figured we could use another lancer so I made sure he enlisted with us."

"B-B-but," Elysse stuttered, "_I'm_ your lancer…and I thought you wanted an all-female squad."

Hector laughed, "And what makes squad 8 so exclusive?"

"Well because, um…" Elysse made a shape with her hands, "It's the number eight, you know? It kinda makes the shape of a woman with…the hips and…" she trailed off, leading Hector to just stare at her, "…Don't look at me, it was Lynn's idea."

"It was," Lynn said, "But I guess I was just angry when I heard that there was a male-only squad around here. Some jerk transferred from the regular army to the militia and created it, and I kind of liked the idea of an all-girl squad."

"So explain him," asked Elysse.

"I'm always tweaking our squad here and there and I want to see how we fair with two lancers instead of one. Don't forget we've got two engineers as well, ammunition won't be an issue."

Elysse sighed and rolled her eyes. She was stuck. The atmosphere became heavy, and the only sound became that of crackling campfires.

Hector cleared his throat, "So, now that things have calmed down, why don't one of you girls introduce me to the rest of the squad?"

"Good idea," said Lynn.

The two walked off leaving Elysse behind. She tapped her foot a few times before giving up on her anger and following them.

_____

Under the shadow of Barious' huge rocks sat two tents that belonged to Squad 8. Elysse had the misfortune of getting a seat next to Hector. Lynn pointed to everyone around the campfire.

"Okay, first we have our scouts, Freesia and Ramona," both girls said hello in unison.

"Next are Ramsey and Claudia, our two top-performing engineers."

Claudia smiled and Ramsey sounded like a zombie, "Yeah…hi."

"And sitting next to them is our very gifted sniper, Alyssa Reinhardt."

The short form of Alyssa looked up from cleaning her rifle and said "hi". Hector nervously replied with a greeting of his own. Elysse didn't blame him for being nervous, there was hardly anyone who knew much about Alyssa. She was short and only sixteen years old, but she had the sharp, feminine eyes of a full-grown woman. Her hair was medium length, decorated with fancy ribbons. It was also blackish blue, the unmistakable mark of a darcsen.

Elysse had hoped the conversation would change, but Hector was inclined to ask, "Reinhardt? I thought darcsens didn't have last names?"

Alyssa looked up from cleaning her rifle. Her expression wasn't hostile, but it wasn't warm either, "My family is very powerful, we fought to keep our last name."

Hector nodded intrigued, "Really? You'd think we'd all know more about you then."

"I've been with the militia since the start of the war. I don't talk too much."

Hector joked, "Well I'll see if I can change that, it's better if we all know each other inside and out, don't you think?"

Alyssa resumed cleaning her rifle, "…I guess."

Elysse looked to Lynn, hoping to avoid more awkward silence. Lynn solved the problem in the worst way possible.

"Say, Hector? Can you help Elysse get a new lance? Looks like she's lost hers"

"I'd be happy too."

Elysse stewed even as Hector was getting up.

"Elysse? You coming?"

Elysse reluctantly left her seat.

_____

Over at the armory, a sleepy supply officer didn't want to help Elysse at all, so it was Hector who picked her out a new lance. The tent holding lances was dark and smelled like oil and metal. Hector grabbed a lance out of a pile.

"This type is one of the most accurate," he said while shoving it in Elysse's hand, "Remember, you only have once chance to knock out a tank before it knocks you out."

Elysse faked a smile, "Incredible, you'd think I'd never been a lancer before."

Hector frowned, "I'm just trying to help."

"Well don't."

Hector heaved a sigh, "Is this because I'm a man in an all-woman squad? Or do you just see me as competition?"

Elysse didn't have an answer. Actually, she didn't know why she was being so difficult.

"I'm sorry. I'm not usually like this. Maybe the battle just shook me up."

"Well you have no reason to be scared, you're with an excellent squad."

"I know. Lynn is such a great soldier."

"And Alyssa?"

Elysse looked off to the side at a pile of lances, "What about her?"

"Do you know anything about her?"

"Not really. I've heard people say she's married though."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I heard she's some kind of darcsen royalty and got hitched at a young age. I wonder if it's only a political marriage though."

"Poor girl."

"I'm sure she's okay, she's a great shot. Except for that one time though…"

Elysse kicked herself, she had heard rumors about Alyssa having an accident before she was transferred to squad 8, but rumors were just rumors.

"Except for what?" asked Hector.

"Never mind, we should be going. Thanks for the help."

Elysse left the tent quickly.

_____

The time had to be past midnight. Elysse walked with Hector through the encampment, careful not to wake anyone. Listening to the pleasant melody of crackling fires, Elysse contemplated her new squad member. Although she wouldn't admit it, she did feel threatened by another lancer. But was that it? She thought real hard and didn't think her anxiety was the result of competition or love. She gave up, maybe sleep would alleviate her troubles.

Hector came to a stop, prompting Elysse to do the same. Up ahead, Alyssa was coming out of a tent. She walked away, not noticing them.

"What is she doing over here?" asked Hector. Elysse didn't have time to think. Up ahead, the infamous sniper, Cezary Regard, was resting against a box of munitions. Alyssa walked past him, but at the last second, Cezary tripped her. Alyssa yelped while hitting the dry ground hard.

"Hey!" called and angry Elysse. She ran up to the scene, eyes on Cezary, "You did that on purpose! I saw!"

Cezary shrugged, "I did nothing, the stupid darcsen just tripped."

Elysse helped her fellow soldier up. Alyssa avoided eye-contact with Cezary.

"Don't get to close to her," Cezary warned, "She might kill you."

"Shut up!" roared Elysse.

"Kill?" asked Hector, "What's this about?"

Cezary pulled some hair out of his eyes, "You don't know? Miss Reinhardt here is a fragger. She capped the lieutenant in her last squad."

"Shut up!" tried Alyssa.

Cezary continued, "During an engagement, she shot him in the back, then tried to say it was an accident."

Elysse was fuming and Alyssa was on the verge of crying. She looked to Hector for help, but he was only making it worse.

"Where did you hear this?" he asked.

"Talk to any officer, they'll tell you. It would have been the perfect crime too, I'm surprised she was caught."

"That's enough!" yelled Elysse.

A tent close to them suddenly opened up. Musaad stuck is scared face out, "Y'all shut the hell up! Everyone's trying to sleep!"

Everyone fell silent quickly, at least until Musaad went back into his tent. Hector patted Cezary on the shoulder, "Take a hike."

Naturally, the militia's racist sniper looked like he wanted to let loose on Hector, but instead he complied and left. With Cezary gone, Elysse turned to her squad's sniper, "Did the fall hurt you at all?" Alyssa's expression was hard to read, she was probably trying to conceal her emotions, "No, I'm fine. Thank you. I should be getting back to my tent."

With that she somberly departed. Elysse watched until she was out of sight.

"…Poor girl," said Hector.

Elysse frowned at him, "Well it didn't help that you were encouraging that stupid sniper."

"I was only asking, take it easy."

Elysse grabbed her new lance, "We should be getting to sleep too."

"I'll meet you there in five," said Hector. Elysse's eyebrows went up, "In five? Where are you going?"

Hector turned around and started walking to another part of the camp, "Don't worry about it. See you at 0-dark hundred tomorrow."

Elysse's curiosity almost got the better of her, but she yawned and decided to sleep instead. Who knew what the militia would be facing tomorrow.

_____

Hector walked casually, doing his best to enjoy the fresh, albeit dry desert air. He came upon a couple of tents bearing a flag with the number 7 on it. The remains of a camp-fire and a few scattered sandbags accompanied the tents. Hector smiled, a young woman with dark hair was sitting on some of the sandbags while looking up at the sky.

"You're making it a late night Marina," said Hector suddenly.

Marina wasn't surprised, she calmly looked over at him from under her hair, "I like the night. It's the only time I get to be alone."

Hector grimaced, hoping that wasn't her secret way of telling him to get lost, "Free to talk?"

"About what?"

"About work."

Marina's mouth turned into a very small smile, "You recently transferred to squad 8 didn't you? You're the envy of every man in the militia Hector."

Hector believed that, but he also believed that it would be wrong to take advantage of the squad's male to female ratio. He was a soldier after all; the only thing he needed to be concerned with was proving his worth.

Marina of course already knew this, "I know, you're too scrupulous to try anything."

"Yeah. When I was in my town watch, I…" Hector had to stop, for whatever strange reason, Elysse's picture popped into his head. He quickly dismissed it, "…learned how to ignore gender."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I also learned that team members who isolate themselves don't work well together. My squad's got a sniper, a young darcsen girl that doesn't like to talk to anyone."

"Darcsens tend to stay quiet because they never know if they'll be discriminated against."

Hector rubbed his square chin, "No, this is different, I think this girl is simply anti-social. I've seen this before with people, they act all timid, but they just need someone to talk to."

Marina's head fell low on her shoulders at what Hector was implying, "So you want me to be your sniper's new friend?"

"Could you? You're the only other sniper I know."

Marina's face was that of a child being told to do homework. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, "…Alright, what's her name?"

"She's a darcsen girl named Alyssa."

Marina froze up. She gave him a cold expression, cold even for her. Hector didn't know what it was about.

"I'm sorry," said Marina getting off her sandbag seat, "I can't help you. Not with her."

"What?" Hector threw his hand out in disbelief, "Don't tell me it's just because she's a darcsen!"

"Don't be stupid, I got nothing against darcsens."

"Then why can't you help her?"

Marina went into her tent without answering. It was rude, even for her, and even after scratching his head a couple times Hector couldn't understand it. He yawned, realizing it was too late to be thinking about such things. He'd talk to her tomorrow.

_____

Hector was nearly asleep by the time he reached squad 8's tents, but he was awake enough to see the sleek, royal form of Alyssa sitting on some sandbags cleaning her rifle. Hector came close enough for Alyssa to hear his footsteps.

"Isn't it late to being doing that?"

Alyssa responded without looking up at him, "What's it to you?"

"Look, Alyssa, I know it's hard being a darcsen around here, and even harder to be married at your age."

Alyssa spared him a surprised look, "How do you know I'm married?"

"I um…okay, I'll be honest, I asked around about you."

Alyssa returned to her rifle, "Did you also hear that I'm a murderer?"

Hector winced, "Yes…I mean, no…I mean, I would never believe what Cezary says about you. But it might be easier for you if you told everyone the truth."

"Why? I'm a darcsen, they'll just think I'm lying."

"We're not all darcsen-haters Alyssa, believe that. Is that why you don't wear a smock like the other darcsens? Don't want to call attention to yourself?"

Alyssa snorted, "A stupid smock doesn't do my family name any justice, I hate those childish things."

Hector thought he was making progress with the young sniper, but obviously he wasn't. Hector was tired, so that might have been the reason why his next words were so aggressive, "Damn it Alyssa! What's wrong with you?! Why won't you talk to any of us?!"

Even after that, Alyssa remained as silent as a corpse, her mature eyes focused on her gun. Hector was ready to give up. But then he remembered how Marina had acted earlier. The memory forced him to urk out something he would never say, a question he would never ask.

"Alyssa…d-did you intentionally shoot your lieutenant?"

Alyssa's hands stopped working. She lifted her head a little and looked at him. By the light of the moon, Hector saw the faintest smile on her face. She was smiling. Hector had asked if she was a murderer, and she was smiling. Hector didn't know what to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria chronicles or its characters

* * *

_**CHAPTER TWO**_

* * *

Hector stood underneath an abstract sky of red and black. Before him was a hill, and on top of that hill was a huge gothic mansion, three floors high with more windows than could be counted. The wind howled and the sky flashed with lightning. It was all a dream, but a very, very vivid one.

* * *

"…Hector!"

Hector awoke suddenly to Welkin's calling. He was under the hot sun of the Barious desert inside one of its natural trenches. He had fallen asleep during a short break in work.

The militia had relocated to another part of the desert and Hector was put on trench-digging duty. The natural trenches of Barious were good, but improvements could be made on some. Jagged cliffs flanked either side of the militia's position and a strange stone building lined with holes sat behind him. Hector was told squad 7 had recently secured the spot, and it was to be the militia's stronghold against Imperial counter attack.

Welkin looked at Hector concerned, "Are you alright? You look really tired."

"Yeah, sorry," said Hector, "Had a little trouble sleeping last night."

With that, Hector grabbed his shovel and started working along with the rest of the soldiers. Honestly, Hector was still bothered by his encounter with his squad's darcsen sniper last night. He felt silly, he knew he should be focusing on all his new comrades, but Alyssa was stealing most of his attention.

On top of the broken-down structure behind him, soldiers were at work lining the roof with sandbags and machine guns. Hector's eye caught sight of his squad leader, Lynn, overseeing the construction. Close by sat Alyssa who was tweaking the sights of her rifle.

"Can I ask you something sir?" Hector asked Welkin. Welkin talked while digging, "Is it why and officer is digging trenches? Sure, I like the exercise."

"No, that's not it."

Hector had to wipe the sweat from his bandanna, "I've just been transferred to squad 8 and um, we've got this sniper. Maybe you've heard of her, Alyssa Reinhardt?"

Welkin shook his head and continued shoveling, "No, sorry."

Hector grunted and resumed his work; it was a stupid question for him to ask anyway.

Despite this fact, he asked another, "Sir? Have you ever heard of an incident in the militia involving a sniper intentionally shooting an officer?"

"What? No, can't say I have," A pleasant-faced Welkin went on to tell a story, "But when I was in Bruhl, I remember Alicia almost shot me because she thought I was a spy. Does that count?"

An enemy tank shell exploded close by. It shook the ground and showered both Welkin and Hector with sand and dust. The two jumped into the trench they'd just dug and hugged the dirt.

"Well, this was unexpected!" shouted Welkin. Hector kept his face to the sand as more shells exploded nearby. Welkin grabbed his binoculars and peeked out for a look.

"Lets see, um…looks like a couple of tanks are coming our way. It's hard to tell how many because of the terrain."

"Think they're here to test our defenses?"

"Maybe," said Welkin putting his binoculars away, "I need to get to the Edelweiss. Take care Hector!"

Welkin slipped out of the trench quickly. Hector made for his lance and put one hand in the air, "Squad 8 rally on me! Squad 8 rally on me!"

He hoped his voice was loud enough. After a few minutes, Freesia was the first to find him. She fell in to his right, "Hey there big guy," she said with a wink. Elysse fell in to his left, "Man, are they really hitting us with armor?"

"See for yourself!"

While Elysse peeked over the trench for a better look, Lynn jumped in behind Hector. With all the confidence and enthusiasm a leader should have, she yelled, "Alright squad 8, give it your all!"

Hector readied his lance to fire. Looking down the scope, he saw a distant tank rumble towards their lines.

"No infantry?" asked Elysse while looking down the scope of her own lance, "Odd."

"They must be testing us!" said Lynn.

Hector waited patiently for the tank to enter his range. He hoped that all the dust it was kicking up wouldn't distort his aim.

"I say we aim for the transmission," said Elysse.

Hector nodded, "Fire when ready."

The sand-colored Imperial tank got closer, close enough for everyone to hear its squeaking tracks. Its turret lit up every so often, but its aim was terrible.

"I'm firing," said Elysse. Her body jerked backwards. Hector watched the trail of smoke lead to the target's transmission. The explosion was big, but in the end, it only left a scar on the beast's steel front armor.

"No good, it didn't penetrate," informed Hector. Naturally, Elysse moaned.

Hector held his breath and took his own shot. The force pushed him back a little. His rocket sailed to the right missing the transmission but blowing the tracks off its front idler wheel. The tank ground to a halt.

"Well that's one way of doing it," said Lynn.

Elysse finished reloading her lance and took aim at another tank. She quickly fired but the rocket sailed over its turret.

"Take it easy Elysse," said Hector hoping her competitive side wasn't showing. Hector readied his own shot. He aimed for the tank's transmission again, but this time he missed it altogether. He grunted while going to reload, "Must be off today."

Another soldier jumped into the trench with the rest of the squad and almost knocked Elysse over.

"Ramsey!" said Lynn, "What's going on?"

Ramsey panted and dropped a sack of extra lance rockets, "Don't pressure me. I like, heard something over the radio: Lieutenant Gunther wants Squad 1 and Squad 8 to stay here and keep up the fire, he's taking Squad 7 and Squad 4 forward to see how many tanks we're up against."

A decently placed Imperial tank shell exploded in front of them all. It wasn't lethal, but it was deafening. Ramsey obviously wasn't in the mood to fight and scrambled out of the trench.

Hector used the scope of his lance to see what was going on out in the distance. Sure enough, he saw the fast blue body of the Edelwiess speeding towards enemy lines, its gun putting every shot on the mark. Around it, militia soldiers carefully engaged Imperials and a blue half-track sped around with its front and back machine guns blazing. The dust being kicked up was bad, and things got hard to see. Hector jumped when an Imperial tank shell landed almost right in the middle of squad 7's line. It looked devastating.

"Come on Hector! Worry about what's in front of us!"

Hector quickly refocused on the tank he had missed. It was much closer now. Hector aimed and fired at the same time Elysse did. Both rockets hit and blew the tank to smithereens.

After that, the remaining tanks slammed on the breaks and sped away in reverse. Eventually, the sounds of gunfire died down. Hector breathed a sigh of relief, "I guess they were just testing us."

Lynn patted both him and Elysse on the back, "Great job you guys, everyone did spectacular."

"I did great didn't I?" asked Elysse with an overly wide smile. Lynn nodded before she crawled out of the trench. Hector decided to take a seat and smack his head until the ringing stopped, "So, one compliment not good enough for you Elysse?"

Elysse scoffed cutely, "No, I just…didn't hear the first one."

Hector glanced up at the sniper's nest constructed behind them. Alyssa was still in her perch, binoculars to her eyes. A hand suddenly came around Hector's chin, "You're not hit are you big guy?"

Hector felt too uncomfortable to face Freesia, "N-No, thanks for the concern."

Freesia didn't take her hands away, "Good, because if you were, I'd have to take your clothes off."

Hector's eyes sprang open. Elysse was quick to look away, "_Perverts_," she mumbled.

Hector found his chance to escape when he saw the Edelweiss come rumbling back from its offensive. It was hardly a victory lap though; the commotion around it suggested something was wrong.

* * *

Hector jogged up to the Edelweiss just in time to see a wounded soldier get carried away on a stretcher. He got a clear look, it was Cezary Regard. Asking Cezary what happened was useless, so he found Welkin in the copula of his tank.

"Lieutenant! What happened?"

Welkin looked down with a self-hating frown, "He was hit. It was my fault, I pushed everyone too close to their lines."

"Where was he hit?" blurted Hector.

"The arm I think."

"No I mean…from what direction was he hit?"

Welkin looked confused as he pointed out to the desert "Um, that way I'd assume. That's where the Imperials were."

Soldiers with more important questions pushed him aside. He grunted wondering why the hell he would ask such a thing.

"Something happen?"

Hector jumped around to find the petite form of Alyssa behind him. She was looking up with a look of concern.

"Um," tried Hector, "Nothing, just talking."

Alyssa smiled at him, but it sure wasn't a warm one, "Talking hmm?"

There was a pause. Alyssa casually walked away while fishing a rifle bullet out of her uniform. Then, with a swagger in her step, she began to twirl it in her fingers.

Hector was no fool. There was no doubt in Hector's mind that his fellow squad member was a criminal, but without any hard evidence he was paralyzed. With a growl he pulled his bandanna off and trudged away to find his squad. His skills were going to be tested, he had to think very carefully about his next move.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thank you for continuing to read and thanks for the reviews, they are very helpful. This chapter may seem like my usual stuff, but in the next one I try to depart from the norm.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria Chronicles or its characters._

* * *

**_CHAPTER THREE_**

* * *

Hector struggled to keep his eyes open. His past few nights had resulted in some very abstract dreams which robbed him of rest. Squad 8 along with other outfits had marched to another part of Barious, an isolated part near the front lines. Brown cliffs flanked either side of narrow patch of desert which led out to a string of Gallian camps, trenches and debris. Blue debris to be specific, everyone was surprised to see large shards of blue wall sticking out across the landscape they were supposed to defend. Upon a hill sat the strangest building, it looked like a big blue turtle shell. Hector didn't think much about it, he wasn't there to ask questions.

An entire company all stood at attention in the middle of the desert, organized by squad. Hector nervously stood towards the back of squad 8, realizing just how out of place a big guy like him looked in a squad of women. In front of the company, Welkin stood beside his tank.

"Sorry to move everyone out here on such short notice," he said, "But captain Varrot wants us to have a solid forward line to protect the army."

Behind Hector, Ramsey stood on her toes trying to see. Elysse whined in front of him, "Too much work…"

Faldio Landzaat and Alicia Melchiott appeared by Welkin's side as he continued, "Take it easy for the rest of the evening, Lieutenant Landzaat and I are going to be investigating that building up there."

Welkin pointed to the blue turtle shell-looking thing, "We promise not to take too long. No fall out. Dismissed."

Every soldier took a step back and did an about face. Then an officer shouted above everyone, "May I have your attention! I'd like to announce that the mail has finally reached us out here! Please stop by to pick up your mail!"

A round of cheers overtook the entire company.

"Oh great," moaned Ramsey, "More work."

Ramona used Hector to stretch her mouth muscles, "So, do you think you got anything? I can totally see you getting a letter covered in lipstick or something."

"Not really, I keep in touch with a few people from my old town watch and that's it."

Elysse managed to save him from an hour of meaningless chatter by dragging Ramona off with everyone else.

The sky was turning orange, another day down for the militia. Hector looked at the natural bottleneck the cliffs made in the desert. He'd certainly be safe tonight; any tank that came down that death-trap would eat lance fire from every direction.

Elysse walked with her face in the only letter she'd received. Her aimless wandering had pulled her a ways from the militia camps. She was reading a letter from her father, but to her disappointment, it contained nothing meaningful. Elysse sighed and folded the letter up; all her dad ever did was ask if she was working hard enough. She was miles away from home in a hostile environment but that's all her dad would talk about.

Someone was skipping towards her. It was Lynn, a huge smile on her face.

"One from hubby?" Elysse asked.

Lynn skipped up to her, "Yeah! How'd you guess?"

"I can tell. So, he's alright?"

"Oh yes, and he says he's thinking of me all the time."

Ramona's hand snatched the letter away from her, "Ooh, a letter from Karl? What's it say?"

Elysse laughed as Lynn chased Ramona in circles. Before she knew it, another squad member had found her way to them. A few feet away, Alyssa was slowly walking while reading a letter of her own. Elysse bit her lip; she couldn't just let the girl go by without saying something.

"Hey Alyssa! Who's it from?"

Alyssa looked over at her, "Oh, um…it's from my husband."

Lynn and Ramona's chase came to an abrupt stop, "Husband? You really are married?"

"So what's this handsome devil's name?" asked Elysse.

"His name?" said Alyssa still a little defensive, "Dedric."

"Well then, you should at least smile when you read that. Don't you love him?" asked Ramona.

"Well, I don't know, it was an arranged marriage and the war started shortly after. I haven't had a lot of time to get to know him."

Elysse's jaw hit the deck, "Arranged?"

"Your family wouldn't even let you pick your own husband?" asked Lynn.

Alyssa snapped back like a spoiled child, "You're just too immature to understand! I'm happy with my husband and my family's decision. Hmph."

Elysse put her hands up, "Hey, we're not criticizing your family or anything. Actually, I think it's pretty cool. I could never go through that, you're an incredibly mature girl Alyssa."

Alyssa's expression softened significantly, "Y-You think so?"

"Sure. I think that and your enlistment say a lot about your character. Darcsens really are hard workers."

Alyssa looked like she was blushing a little, "My character? Um…thank you."

Elysse smiled wide. She knew of all the things darcsens in the militia were put through, so this made her feel great. She took Alyssa in her arms for a big hug, "Who's a good girl, huh?"

Lynn and Ramona joined the hug as well, where they all finally saw Alyssa smile.

* * *

The sun was almost down. The Edelweiss was parked beside one of the large blue protrusions in the sand. A short darcsen girl busied herself scraping the dried mud from the wheels of her brother's tank.

"I'm sorry Mr. Calvey, but I don't know _every_ darcsen in the militia."

Hector sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Alright, I understand. I'm sorry to bother you like this."

Isara pulled her hands out of the tracks and wiped the grime from her innocent-looking face. She looked like she really wanted to help.

"If you've got questions about someone in your squad, I think you should talk to your squad leader, not me."

"I'm hoping to not have to."

Isara looked worried, "So you're subverting your superior to find answers?"

Hector shook his head quickly, "No, no, no, I just…Never mind."

"Does something stand out about her that I'd recognize?" asked Isara

Hector groaned as he tried to remember. He tapped his hand against the Edelwiess while thinking, "Yeah, she's a darcsen but she has a last name. Alyssa….Alyssa Ron…It was something with an R. Rien or Rein-something."

Isara's eyes shot open, "Reinhardt?"

"Yes! That's it!"

Isara dropped the tool she was using to clean the Edelweiss, "Reinhardt? We have a Reinhardt fighting in the Militia?

Hector pulled at his hair, "What? Why the hell does everyone freak out when I mention that name?"

Isara jumped into the driver's hatch of the tank, her two feet dangling in the air. She returned with a generic map of Gallia, "Only darcsens know that name, the Reinhardt's are secret darcsen royalty."

Isara pointed to a spot on the map. It was just south of their current position, almost parallel with Randgriz, which sat miles to their west.

"There's nothing there," said Hector.

"Trust me, there is. It's a town called Maisel, pretty big too, or so I've heard. It's been there for centuries, it might be as old as the darcsen race itself."

"Or so you've heard?"

"It's a town populated by darcsens who don't want to live with non-darcsens. The whole place is controlled by the Reinhardt family, they kind of run it like a small kingdom."

Hector stared at the blank piece of map Isara continued to point at, "Why haven't I heard of this?"

"Because Maisel wants nothing to do with Gallia, or Her Majesty. I've heard other darcsens talk about it, but most of us are too nervous to move there. I personally don't think breaking away from Gallia is the answer to our problems. That and I couldn't live away from my brother."

"Have there been any Imperial attempts to attack it? A darcsen stronghold like that must be a big target."

"I've heard of a few attempts but they've all failed."

"Why?"

Isara shrugged and pulled out a pen, "No one knows. So as you can imagine, that only compounds people's belief in the Reinhardt family's strength."

She then circled the town's location on the map, "I'm shocked that a Reinhardt would even join the war effort when they've been neutral for so long."

Hector rubbed his lips and thought, "So you're saying that family could care less if Gallia wins the war or not?"

"Well they must have changed their minds if Alyssa is fighting with us. They must realize that they'll be safer if Gallia wins the war."

Isara then trotted over to the front of the tank. There, she leaned against it with her smock fluttering in the evening breeze. Hector joined her and looked up at the strange blue building Welkin had ventured to. The blue against the orange of dusk looked very pretty.

"If darcsens and non-darcsens could just learn to live together in peace, it'd be as beautiful as that sunset."

Hector figured Isara was talking about the blue of the ancient building and the orange of the sunset. Two colors that looked even better together.

Three characters suddenly came charging out of the building Isara and Hector were ogling.

"…Is that the Lieutenant?" asked Hector.

Indeed two men and a woman in Gallian uniforms were charging towards the militia camps, waving their hands in the air and shouting at the top of their lungs. They were too far away to hear.

Hector felt the ground vibrate beneath his boots. Isara felt it too.

Welkin could finally be heard, "Tank! Tank!" he cried.

Hector grabbed his lance, "Dammit, they're hitting us again?"

He and Isara ran off to where the cliffs flanked either side of the desert. The ground started shaking even more.

"What's happening?" asked Isara looking out in the distance. Hector readied his lance to fire.

Then it came into view. It wasn't just an Imperial tank, it was a tank the size of a multi-leveled building. It was unimaginable, a fortress of steel lined with machine guns and accompanied by a huge main gun. Its tracks were nearly two people high with treads so wide they could crush a small tank. Hector broke out in a cold sweat; its main gun was aimed right at them.

Hector and Isara turned around and ran like hell, "EVERYBODY RUN!"

The Batomys fired and obliterated the patch of desert where they were standing.

Welkin was already in the Edelweiss, screaming for Isara to get in.

"Lieutenant!" cried Hector, "Orders?"

Welkin shivered at what was in front of him, "Um…geez, that thing is going to crush our camps one by one! Everybody stay out of its way and look for a weakness!"

It wasn't a great plan, but Welkin needed to move for he got run over.

Hector ran quickly to the Gallian camps further back, yelling loud for squad 8. Amid all the soldiers and jeeps scurrying in every direction, he was able to find Freesia, Ramona, Elysse and Ramsey. He couldn't find Claudia, Lynn or Alyssa.

"Alright listen up!" boomed Hector, "Gunther says to stay back and look for weaknesses!"

Freesia was too busy shaking to listen, "A thing that size can't have any weaknesses!"

Ramsey's freckled face was white, "I'm going to need more lance rockets."

"Shouldn't we wait for Lynn?" asked Elysse.

"No time, everybody on me!"

Hector hoped his plan would work.

* * *

With only half a squad, Hector grabbed some natural cover flanking the left side of the impossible machine. The rugged terrain provided a lot of places to hide, but machine gun fire from the monster kept them all pinned. Elysse kept her head behind a rocky wall was bullets whizzed by her head. She had fired all her rockets to no avail, the tank was too heavily armored. She watched as Hector fired his last lance.

"I'm out!" he yelled.

Ramsey popped her head out from a trench, "So am I! You're on your own!"

Elysse yelled over the gunfire, "Hector we need to pull back! We don't have enough people!"

He wasn't listening. He had spotted Claudia a few meters away and was trying to get her attention by waving his lance in the air.

"Claudia!"

It was no good; she was absorbed in treating a wounded soldier.

"Screw this, I'm gone!" Ramsey bolted before anyone knew she left. Freesia patted Elysse on the shoulder, "This is waaaay to hot for me guys, sorry!"

"Hector!" tried Elysse.

Her new comrade punched the ground, "It's friggin' invincible! This isn't fair!"

Elysse grunted and pulled Hector away with all her strength.

* * *

The militia began to congregate around the Gallian camp farthest back from the Batomys. Waiting for Elysse and Hector in the driver's seat of a blue troop truck was Lynn.

"Calvey!" she roared, "What the hell are you doing giving my squad orders?"

"Gunther told everyone to probe for that thing's weaknesses."

Lynn grinded her teeth, jumped out from the truck and grabbed Hector's uniform, "In case you've forgotten, _I'm_ your immediate superior!"

Elysse was surprised at both Lynn and Hector, neither of them looked like they wanted to back down.

"Hiding all the way back here isn't going to do anything!" said a defiant Hector.

Lynn was about to hit back but Ramsey caught news over her field radio, "Lieutenant Gunther says he wants all squads except 7 to fall back! He says he'll deal with the tank himself!"

"That's suicide!" exclaimed Elysse.

"It's his orders," corrected Lynn.

"But where are we supposed to rally?"

Lynn scratched her dusty hair, "I don't know…"

Around them all, Soldiers ran in every direction while trucks hurried to load soldiers.

Ramey sat in the truck's passenger seat pulling her pig tails "…I've got nothing,"

Alyssa jumped out from the back of the truck, "Maisel."

Elysse raised an eyebrow, "Where?"

"It's my home town. We'll be safe there until things cool off. I know they way, it's only a few miles from here."

"I've never heard of it," worried Lynn, "But it looks like we don't have a choice. Alyssa, tell everyone where we're going."

Alyssa nodded and ducked back into the truck.

"Wait a second," said Hector, "Should we be doing this?"

"It's the only safe place to go. And as I said before, I'm in charge."

The conversation was getting so hot Elysse had to inch away from it. She had never seen Hector or Lynn so fired up before.

"Lynn you can't take the entire squad to a place no one's heard of!"

There was a massive explosion. Everyone looked up and saw that the Batomys had just destroyed one of the large chunks of blue wall sticking out of the landscape.

"Anywhere's better than here," Said Lynn somberly.

"I-I agree!" said Elysse nervously.

Hector unleashed a sharp tongue, "Listen to me Lynn. Alyssa Reinhardt's a murderer."

Shocked wasn't the word to describe Lynn. Elysse hit Hector hard with her lance, "What's wrong with you? That's just a racist rumor!"

"It's true! Don't ask me how but it's true!"

"I _do_ want to ask you how Hector!" yelled Lynn, her own darcsen blood boiling.

Hector struggled to answer. He suddenly blurted, "You want me to explain why I suspect her? Well, why don't you tell me why you think she's innocent?"

"Because…"

"Is it just because she's a darcsen?"

This time everyone, including Ramsey sitting behind them fell silent in shock. It sounded like Hector was accusing Lynn of covering for Alyssa.

"…That's it," Lynn hissed, "You're out of my squad."

Despite the sounds of battle, everything was silent for squad 8. Lynn motioned to Elysse, "Let's go, get in the truck."

And just like that, it was done. Hector looked the most shocked, and Elysse couldn't even stay to say goodbye. She jogged to the truck and jumped into the back just as it began to drive away. Hector was standing all alone with an empty lance and they were just going to leave him like that.

Everyone was looking at him.

"This is crazy," said Freesia.

"It's Lynn's orders," answered Ramona.

Claudia rubbed her hands together in anxiety, "But he's going to be killed out there."

The whole squad seemed on edge, but that didn't change things. They'd never see Hector Calvey again.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria Chronicles or its characters._

* * *

**_CHAPTER FOUR_**

* * *

For once, Hector was having a good dream. He remembered the faces of the friends he'd made in his town watch. He remembered their words of encouragement and prayers for his safety. It seemed like such a long time ago, but Hector knew in his heart that he'd see them all again someday.

"…Hector? …Hector?"

Hector awoke to a beautiful morning sky. He was lying on his back on top of the Edelwiess, medical supplies and Ragnaid stacked around him. He lifted his head and bumped noses with Isara, "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Ugh…No guts, no glory," replied Hector groggily, "What happened?"

"Well, Welks managed to destroy that giant tank."

Hector sprang upright, "He what?!"

Isara beamed, "He did, we all did. We managed to find a weak point."

Hector reached up and felt his hair; a portion of it was matted with dried blood. Isara winced, "It wasn't exactly an easy battle though. You took a piece of debris to the head. But you managed to take out quite a few Imperials before that happened."

At least he had that. Hector jumped off the Edelwiess and cracked his worn muscles, "Thanks Isara."

"My pleasure."

"Damn it!"

Welkin suddenly came out of his tank's turret, abusing his headset.

"What's wrong Welks?"

Welkin panted with a seriously frustrated look on his face, "The entire company is scattered, Captain Varrot can't get anyone organized."

"But at least they're alright Welkin," said Isara.

"I guess…"

"By the way, Mr. Calvey, do you know where your squad went to?"

Hector scratched his head and tried to remember. Then it hit him, or rather stabbed him. He was kicked out of squad 8 and then Lynn took the squad to Maisel.

"I think they went to that town you talked about, Maisel."

Isara raised a blue eyebrow, "Really?"

"Should I ask the Captain to make that our rallying point?" asked Welkin.

"No…" Isara's bright face dimmed, "I think we should contact squad 8 first and see if the town would be willing to garrison more squads."

"I like that plan," said Hector. Although he wasn't saying it, he couldn't help but wonder if the town was safe. He had to suspect everything associated with Alyssa Reinhardt.

Welkin dipped back into the turret and started playing with his radio. After a few minutes, he came out looking perplexed, "I can't raise them. Maybe they lost their radio?"

"I don't like this," said Isara dead serious.

"Why? Is Maisel dangerous or something?" asked Welkin.

Hector had the exact same question on his mind, but Isara chose to stay in thought rather than answer. She finally looked at both her brother and Hector, "I think I should go there to check on squad 8. It's not too far and I know the way."

Naturally, Welkin protested, but Isara waved him off with a loving smile, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll take Mr. Calvey with me."

Hector was surprised but happy. If anything was wrong, it was his duty to protect his squad.

"Alright," said Welkin, "But be careful. Hector, find a rifle. And Isara…" Welkin pulled a blue Gallian pistol from his belt and tossed it to her, "Be careful…please."

"I promise Welks."

_____

As long as one kept an open mind, the Barious landscape was actually very pretty when viewed from a jeep. Isara drove a blue Gallian jeep up and down over the rugged desert. The inevitable bouncing made sleep impossible, so sight-seeing was all Hector could do from the passenger seat. They had been driving for a few hours now, and the only sound was the buzzing of ragnite from under the hood.

Hector looked in the back seat. He had a standard issue Gallian rifle and Brondel sniper rifle wrapped in tarp. Despite Isara's protest, he had brought them for safety. Isara weaved to avoid a rock, forcing Hector to grab the door again, "To hell with this wasteland."

"That's why nobody really lives here Hector."

The sky rumbled. The gray clouds above them looked engorged, rain would be coming soon. At least their jeep could deploy a top.

"So why were you dismissed from squad 8?" asked Isara suddenly.

"Because I said something stupid to the wrong person."

"Sorry, just making conversation."

Hector wasn't ready to share his theory about Alyssa with her just yet, it could wait until after they found squad 8. He squinted. Over the horizon, he could make out a couple of tall buildings, the signs of civilization.

"Looks like we found it," said Isara, "Now hold on, I'm going to try and get us there before we get soaked."

And with that, Isara floored the gas. Hector was too numb with anxiety to feel the breeze.

_____

Maisel. To Hector, it looked a lot like Bruhl, but with no greenery. Small cottages lined cobblestone streets, with shops and conveniences clustered together. There were virtually no cars, but a few horses and carts. Streets snaked back and forth along buildings with gothic architecture that looked hundreds of years out of date. And sitting above it all was a castle more real than real. At a distance it was hard to make out details, but it made Hector's heart stop. It reminded him of the mansion in his dreams.

It was raining now, so the top to the jeep was up. Isara brought the vehicle to a slow stop along the side of a street and shut it down. The two looked through the rainy windshield at the ethereal town.

"Certainly sleepy-looking," said Hector with his lip in his teeth.

"Not many visitors I guess. So where do you think we should start?"

Hector looked around. He saw a fairly busy grocery store and shoe shop beside them. A little ways down from that looked like a café. It sounded cliché, but Hector felt that would be the best place for information. He stripped some of the armor and belts from his uniform and got out.

_____

Hector and Isara took a seat at the bar of the café. The room was average sized with a few tables and chairs but the rain kept most of them elpty. The few darcsens present didn't seem to notice them either. Hector felt all out of place, he'd never been among so many darcsens before.

A young, smock-wearing waiter came out of the kitchen and spotted them. Hector's hair and blue Gallian uniform gave them away.

"Gallian soldiers? Seriously?"

"Yes," said Isara, "Don't mean to intrude."

The waiter noticed Isara's smock and smiled, "No, not at all. Water is hard to come by out here, want me to bring you some?"

Isara nodded with a polite smile, "Yes please."

Hector noted how nice the waiter was to Isara while totally ignoring him. The waiter returned with a couple cups of water which Isara thanked him for.

" I take it from your reaction that you don't get many Gallian soldiers out here?"

"Well I wouldn't say that. Actually, I think a few of them came by last night." The waiter grinned, "Caused a big scene too, the Countess was among them."

"Countess?" asked Hector surprised.

This time the waiter looked at him, "Yes, Miss Reinhardt, the daughter of our Lord."

Hector suspected the term _Lord_ was a title. Maisel really was stuck in the Feudal days. "We were all surprised when the Countess' father signed her up for the war, but I guess we can't stay neutral forever."

"Excuse me, but I've never been here before," Isara started, "About this town. I know it has a heavy population of darcsens but…how do you survive out here?"

"Ragnite is our main export, along with a bunch of other minerals we mine."

Hector intervened to steer the conversation back to squad 8, "Excuse me, you said that there were some Gallians who arrived here last night? Any idea where they might be?"

The waiter shrugged, "Can't say, I only heard about them. Excuse me for a moment."

The waiter needed to attend to some other customers for a minute. Hector leaned back and mused while the rain pattered outside, "So, not only was Alyssa forced to marry, she was forced to enlist."

Isara nudged him, "Hector, focus on squad 8."

"Sorry." Hector downed the glass of water in front of him. The desert was synonymous with thirst after all. Isara slid her glass towards him, "I'm not thirsty right now."

Hector was more than happy to drink hers as well. When the waiter came back, Isara had a host of other questions for him. Hector just listened, every so often checking outside to see if the rain had let up. The conversation was mostly about darcsen-related topics. The young tank driver gave a full history of her time in the militia. The waiter gave an annotated history of Maisel and the Reinhardt family, which hinted to be almost as detailed as that of Gallia's monarchy. Hector understood Isara's curiosity, but he really wanted to find Lynn and the others.

"Pardon me," the big lancer excused himself to the restroom without tripping up the conversation.

After coming out the men's room in the back of the café, Hector felt helpless. He had no idea what to do next. His thoughts were interrupted by a noise from the Women's room, it sounded like a whimper coming from behind the door. Hector checked to make sure he wasn't be watched and slipped inside.

Like the men's room, the Women's room was small. There was a girl sitting and crying in the corner, she was wearing a pair of Gallian pants and a black undershirt.

"What the hell? Claudia?"

Claudia flashed a pair of big, watery eyes. "H-Hector?" she whimpered, "W-When did you get here?"

The poor engineer looked terrible. Her hair was frayed and undone, her face was pale and cold sweat covered her neck and headband.

"What's going on? What happened to you?"

Claudia got a hold of herself and stopped shivering, "Well, um…"

She tried to smile but it wasn't very natural, "Things got out of hand once we arrived here. I-I know I should have listened to Lynn but I didn't and…the rain water only made it worse. This always happens to me! It's like I've got this cloud of bad luck following me everywhere!"

Hector did his best to cut the girl off mid-rant, "Rain water? What?"

Claudia attempted to give him the whole story but it was out of order and hard to understand.

"Okay, shut up for a second," He didn't mean to be rude, "Isara and I have a jeep outside. Get dressed and meet us out there. Can you do that?"

Claudia managed to nod.

_____

When they all got to the jeep, Isara was just as bewildered as Hector. The rain wasn't letting up at all so Claudia sat in the back seat of the jeep wrapped in a blanket to stay warm.

"Okay," said Isara, "Start from the beginning."

Claudia sniffled and started, "We got here easily. The townspeople seemed willing to take us in, they were all happy to see Alyssa. Her parents were away on some special trip so she assumed her role as Countess and gave us all a place to sleep. We were all set to contact Captain Varrot in the morning, but when we woke up, Ramsey was gone along with the radio."

"And then?" asked an impatient Hector.

"Then…well, Lynn and Elysse managed to avoid it but everyone else…It's the water," she finally said, "There's a mineral in the water that makes anyone who drinks it dependent on it."

Claudia tried to smile, "and as you can see, drinking something else makes you go a little cuckoo."

Isara turned to Hector, "Maisel traffics in ragnite and minerals from the desert."

"And water ain't easy to find out here. No wonder this place has never been attacked. Think about it, anyone who comes through a desert like this needs water to keep going."

"And they get it from here where they become dependent and can't leave," finished Isara, "But why would the people do that?"

Hector didn't have a clue, but that wasn't important right now.

"Claudia, are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, I think so. I just need a little of the town's water."

"Okay, put your uniform on and get it from the café. Then come back here."

Claudia nodded and hopped out of the jeep once her Gallian jacket was back on. Hector watched her jog back to the café.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Isara.

"We pay our little darcsen Countess a visit as soon as we can."

It was the only thing he could think of. Isara looked at him scared, "Hector? At the café, did you drink any water?"

Hector growled and pulled at his collar, "Two whole glasses."


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria Chronicles or its characters._

* * *

**_CHAPTER FIVE_**

* * *

They were inside Reinhardt castle in a large throne room. Alyssa stood on one end with a thin, fancy sword in hand. She had swapped her Gallian uniform out for a fancy black dress complete with white frills and purple ribbons. Elysse stood across from her with a sword of her own, she wore her blue Gallian fatigue pants and black undershirt. The usually laid-back lancer found her legs restless with anxiety and her chest filled with fire.

Alyssa charged at her and the two soldiers locked blades with a terrible scrapping sound. Elysse stabbed and lunged, only to have her sword batted away every time. Alyssa swung and slashed but to no avail. The two circled each other. Alyssa went for Elysse's leg, but with a sharp pang she parried. The young lancer smiled and swung low. As she expected, the swing was blocked, but in a split second, she swiped at Alyssa's hair. The darcsen Countess watched as one of the ribbons in her hair fell to the floor in pieces.

"You've got some guts challenging a fencing champion like me," gloated Elysse.

Alyssa swung her sword around with a sinister smile, "Just wanted to make sure you weren't lying. I've never had to fight this hard in a fencing match before, it's exciting."

The fight continued. Nothing changed, Elysse kept her guard up and deflected all of Alyssa's attacks.

"I can't believe I was so naïve," Elysse began while fighting, "You really did kill an officer didn't you?"

Alyssa panted and swung with everything she had, "What can I say? If only he had kept his libido in check, he might have lived."

"All he did was flirt with you? That's worth killing someone over?!"

Alyssa jumped back, then tried and failed to get around Elysse's flank, "My family has existed for hundreds of years. My people have been hunted, killed, enslaved, stripped of their titles and last names, and somehow _I'm_ the criminal? I hate non-darcsens like you, they're all so immature and spoiled."

"Look who's talking, you've got yourself a whole castle princess!"

Elysse's blade met Alyssa's with an earsplitting crack.

"It's not my castle Moore! And I didn't want to join the militia!"

Elysse lost her footing.

"And I certainly didn't want to get married!"

The Gallian lancer turned white at the sight of a sword tip in her face. Both girls were panting in fatigue and the victorious Countess withdrew her sword.

Elysse threw her weapon down in frustration, "So what _do_ you want Alyssa?"

Alyssa sheathed her blade with an uncaring look on her face, "I already told you. In exchange for yours and everyone's safety, I want you to help with our ragnite mining. You can do that can't you?"

"Our safety? You made Fressia and Ramona dependent on that water!"

Alyssa grumbled to herself, "_Which you managed to avoid drinking regrettably_."

"And Ramsey's been missing since the night we got here."

Alyssa pulled some sweaty dark-blue hair out of her mouth, "She's probably hiding in town somewhere. Doesn't bother me, she can't contact the Militia."

"Captain Varrot will find us eventually though, you have to know that."

"I'll let you go before that happens. Don't worry, darcsens are immune to the mineral your friends are dependent on and an antidote does exist," Alyssa aimed her sword at Elysse, "So be a good girl and do what you're told until I let you all go. Understand, little-one?"

* * *

Elysse stomped down the halls and away from the throne room. She didn't care to take in the sights; the castle she and her comrades were captive in was big, dreary and gothic, that was all she cared to know. She came to a gradual stop and tried to catch the rest of her breath. It wasn't just fatigue from the sword fight that was draining her; she couldn't feel a drop of sweat on her face. It had only been a day since the lancer had something to drink but the labor she engaged in demanded water, water that she didn't have. Elysse smacked her cheeks, she couldn't give in. She could hear her father telling her she needed to be stronger and that a trooper like her could survive a little longer.

Elysse opened a heavy wooden door and took a flight of stone steps to the basement of the castle. Because of all the ragnite mining, the castle basement was used as a warehouse for crates of the special crystalline resource stacked to the ceiling. Freesia and Ramona strained themselves comically as they tried to move a crate large than them.

"Don't kill yourselves girls," said Elysse getting their attention.

"This is so frustrating!" cried Ramona with a red face, "I'm a scout! I can't move stuff this big!"

Their black undershirts were soaked with sweat; any ventilation was probably choked off by all the boxes. Lynn meandered out from the maze of crates with a clipboard in hand.

"By the looks of this, we should be done for the day. But once all this ragnite gets sent out, we'll have to start all over again."

Freesia and Ramona whined simultaneously.

Lynn looked at Elysse, "So, the question is where do we go from here?"

"Well…"started Elysse while taking a seat, "Our brat-in-chief says she'll let us go eventually. She just wants all this ragnite shipped before her parents get back from their business trip."

"Do you know what all this ragnite is for?" asked Lynn.

"Alyssa says her family does business with everyone, Gallia, the Atlantic Federation, even the Empire."

"Comforting," said Lynn sarcastically.

"What about us?" asked Freesia, "Are we going to be addicted to the water forever?"

"No, apparently there is an antidote."

Ramona smiled while drinking said water from her canteen, "It's a good thing Alyssa seems to like you so much, she tells you everything."

"Well she doesn't exactly tell me. It comes out during our fencing matches."

"That's another thing," Lynn interjected, "I had no idea you fenced."

Elysse sadly smiled, "Yeah, my dad taught me. But if only_ I_ could teach _him_ how to a little more supportive of me."

"More supportive?"

Elysse quickly put her hands up, she couldn't believe she let something like that slip, was her fatigue that bad? "Never mind, never mind."

Freesia climbed onto a ragnite box and sat above everyone, "So, what do we do tonight miss squad leader? Want someone to sneak out a search for Ramsey again?"

"No," said Lynn, "I have faith in Ramsey, I'm sure she's doing something to help us out. However, we have a problem."

Elysse was surprised to see Lynn looking at her, "You're not sweating. You're dehydrated."

Drat! Thought Elysse, she'd been found out. But it wasn't like she could drink the same water everyone else was.

"Just drink it!" said Ramona offering her canteen, "Would you rather be dependent or dead?"

She was right, holding out was pointless. Elysse reluctantly took the canteen and downed it all in a couple seconds. All her hairs stood on end. She had to it felt better than blowing up and Imperial tank.

A silent, somber atmosphere settled over what was left of squad 8. Lynn sighed and set her clipboard down, "And to think all the bad rumors about Alyssa were true. Everyone knew. Hector knew."

"None of us had a chance," explained Elysse, "She was a darcsen and we all assumed she was innocent. But that's in the past. I want to go back to my room and do nothing, who's with me?"

Freesia and Ramona beamed at the plan. Lynn seemed content with milling about the basement some more, "I'm more relaxed when I'm working. See you guys tomorrow."

* * *

A table, a chair, a kerosene lantern and a simple wooden bed. This was all Elysse had in her room, but in retrospect it was a lot better than her digs with the militia. She was lucky to get a tent while on the battlefield, and although nobody told Claudia, she snored like an old man.

With a sigh, the young lancer took a seat on her bed and looked out at the starry sky. She knew she'd go places in the militia, but she never expected something like this. Her brow turned down. Despite all that, she was sure her dad wouldn't care once she got home.

"Make sure you pull your weight, huh?" said Elysse quoting a line in her father's letter. "You have no clue what I go through in the militia. I get shot at every day, by tanks no less…"

Elysse got up and began to argue with her reflection in the window, "And I only get like five hours of sleep every night, and I have to work almost all day, and I have to protect my friends. Have you ever been through that dad?!"

She stopped when she realized how stupid she must look talking to herself. Even so, she finished while looking outside.

"And Hector Calvey, you lucky bastard…you don't have to go through any of this."

She sat back down on her bed, "I think I finally found out why I feel so threatened by you. You're just like my dad; your help always feels like criticism."

It was pointless to say that now. Elysse scolded herself. The only thing she needed to focus on was saving hers and everyone's lives. She lied down and tried to think of a plan, but exhaustion got the better of her. She was out before her eyelids closed.

Midnight came quickly. Elysse drearily became aware of herself and her need to use the restroom, no matter how outdated it was. She opened her eyes. Her room was pitch black. There was extra weight on her bed. A girl was on top of her, watching her as she slept. A conscious Elysse would have immediately understood the creepiness of such a thing.

"…Lynn?" moaned Elysse. The girl laying on her reacted. She stealthily jumped off the bed and disappeared like she were a cat.

* * *

Inside their covered Jeep, Hector, Isara and Claudia slept the best they could given the tight accommodations.

Hector slowly opened his eyes. He had chosen to only sleep lightly in order to act as watchmen, so his ears were tuned to specific noises. He had thought he'd heard a footstep, but the dark, foggy street outside the windshield was desolate. As soon as he went to close his eyes again, he heard the bolt of a rifle slam forward.

"Don't move and don't talk," came the firm voice of a girl. Hector seethed and considered pulling a gun on the person outside his jeep. He was glad he didn't, Ramsey pulled his face to hers.

"Thought it was you," she said with a squint, "How'd you get out here?"

With Ramsey talking in full voice, Isara and Claudia both awoke and started to chatter in surprise.

"Shut up!" hushed Ramsey trying to stop them from talking, "Just grab whatever weapons you brought and follow me, okay?"

* * *

Ramsey led them all into an ally that was barely a truck's length wide.

"So, ya, um…Claudia, glad to see you're okay," said Ramsey.

Claudia smiled, "I'm just happy nothing happened to you, you gave us all a start when you just up and left."

"Ramsey?" asked an impatient Hector, "Care to tell us what's going on?"

"Geez, give me a second… I knew something was wrong with this place when we got here. Shortly after we arrived, Alyssa showed her true colors."

The anti-social engineer spared Hector an apologetic glance, "We should have listened to you Hector, she really did kill her lieutenant. She doesn't care about the militia or Gallia for that matter, all that brat cares about is herself."

"I take it you know about the water too huh?"

Ramsey gagged at the mention of it, "Yeah, yeah…"

"So what does she want with all of us?"

"Ragnite. She wants us to help her with a shipment of the stuff. She said it was a very important order from Emperor Maximilian himself."

Hector and Isara both yelped, "What?!"

"More ragnite in that man's hands?" asked a sickened Claudia, "Do the people here know that the ragnite they sell to the Empire is used to kill darcsens?"

Ramsey groaned, "Claudia I'm an engineer not a pollster."

"Is that why the Empire doesn't attack this place?" asked Hector?

After the question, everyone saw a truck tucked into the end of the ally. Ramsey approached it without caution.

"Ever wonder how Alyssa's family was the only darcsen family able to keep its last name?"

Hector caught a smell that paralyzed him. Isara and Caludia noticed it as well. Ramsey walked to the covered back of the truck and after a little hesitation, pulled the tarp back. Hector grimaced at the sight of dead bodies. The truck was packed with them in various states of decay.

"Yup," said Ramsey with her hand on her nose, "Gallians, Imperials, even those jerks from the Atlantic Federation."

Hector had to inch back a little from the smell. Isara pulled his arm and pointed to the truck's cab. Occupying the driver's seat was the corpse of the waiter they had spoken with yesterday.

"I killed him," said Ramsey, "And no I'm not proud of it. But I did get some information from him. Soldiers who come across this town are coerced into mining ragnite and promised with freedom afterwards."

"And then they're killed?!" raged Isara.

Hector worried, "Ramsey, does that mean Alyssa doesn't intend to let any of us live?"

"That's a given," said Ramsey while covering up the bodies again, "And that's not the worst part. There is an entire Imperial company scheduled to pick Maximilian's ragnite."

As if things couldn't get any worse for them all. Hector, and in fact everyone, shook in their boots at the thought of so many Imperial. And Ramsey wasn't finished, "Oh, and here is the clincher: they're supposed to arrive at dawn."


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria Chronicles or its characters._

* * *

_**CHAPTER SIX**_

* * *

Elysse waited anxiously in the middle of Alyssa's dreary throne room. It was big and decorated with red tapestries but unlike Randgriz, it was made of gray stone, not white marble. The Countess sat in her father's elaborate throne like it was her own, waiting patiently with one leg over the other. An anti-tank lance sat in Elysse's right hand but it was painted red and gray to match the uniform she had on. Maisel apparently had its own militia, and Alyssa insisted she dress like one of her soldiers when the Imperials arrived.

The Gallian lancer tried to whisper but the empty room amplified everything, "Be strait with me, what does Maximilian want with all this ragnite?"

Alyssa shrugged, "Fuel for tanks?"

"That's _a lot_ of fuel though."

"Hmm…One really big tank then?" Alyssa tried.

That was a scary image, Elysse shivered at the thought of another monster-tank like the one she saw a couple days ago.

The doors to the throne room slowly opened. Elysse tried to calm herself in the face of so many Imperial uniforms. Their footsteps echoed and their guns clinked against their armor. An officer dressed in black walked up to them, his leg supported by a cane. His old, scowling face zeroed in on Alyssa.

"Countess Reinhardt, I'll make this quick. I've already discussed the details of our transaction with your parents so I'm only here to collect."

Elysse felt the sweat on her temples. The intimidating officer was only two feet from her.

"Of course General Gregor," said Alyssa, "Will you require any assistance?"

"No," said Gregor, "We can load it ourselves, and I want only my men handling the ragnite fuel."

"Any reason why?"

"Because ragnite can explode quite easily Miss Reinhardt and I won't tolerate sabotage."

Alyssa put on a dramatic expression of hurt, "What? But don't you trust me?"

Gregor snorted and pushed his glasses up, "Countess, people have a tendency to disappear in this region of Barious. Quite frankly, I don't trust you at all."

The crow-faced officer turned around and left. Elysse couldn't believe that there was someone in the world as snooty as Alyssa. Once the door closed, she asked, "So what was the point of having me here?"

Alyssa leapt from her chair and landed with perfect balance, "I wanted someone competent by my side if a problem arose."

Elysse crackled, "Me? Competent? It takes a pitchfork to get me to do anything. I'm kind of a slow starter."

It was meant to be a joke but Alyssa wasn't laughing. In fact she looked back with a flustered face, "Is that how you treat a compliment?"

Elysse blinked, "Um…you're giving me a compliment? Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course!" she insisted, "You're an amazing person! Don't your comrades see that?"

Speechless was the only word to describe Elysse, "…What? Why would you say that?"

Now it was Alyssa who was lost for words. She stopped and stuttered a couple times before storming off in anger.

* * *

The streets of Maisel were busy but not crowded. The majority of tanks and Imperial soldiers had coalesced on the hill where Alyssa's castle sat, but occasionally Hector spotted a straggler or two milling about the shops. They had a lot of guts mixing with the same people they were oppressing.

Hector straitened his shirt. Last night went by fast, he and the girls had to both camouflage their jeep and find some civilian clothes before the Imperial Company arrived, and they did it just in time. The original plan was to just let the Imperials come and go, but Hector wanted to know more, and the best source of information was the stray Imperials in town.

Ramsey and Claudia were on the case, both flaunting dressed and whatever other accessories they scrounge. Hector watched from across the street as Claudia did her best to flirt with an Imperial Lancer. Her best wasn't good enough, she looked so uncomfortable and no amount of smiling a dress twirling could mask the smell of gun-oil and munitions.

"S-so…" Hector could hear Claudia move in for the kill, "D-do you want to go somewhere? Um…together?"

Even as she spoke, the lancer was trying to inch away from her. Hector rubbed his eyes, if Claudia couldn't do this, none of them could. Ramsey decided to make her move, sticking her freckled, squinty-eyed face out and speaking in a low monotone, "Oh baby I want you so bad…"

The lancer ran away as fast as he could. Mission failed.

"Great…" he murmured. Hector could feel his hand shake and his brow dampen with sweat. His other problem was presenting itself.

Isara snuck up behind him, "I told you it wouldn't work."

No matter how hard he tried, Hector couldn't stop the shaking. Isara forced a canteen into his hand, "Drink it! I told you before, don't try to fight it."

Hector did as ordered, depressed that he couldn't fight the addiction with willpower alone.

"So what do we do now?" asked Isara.

Hector did some quick thinking but got nowhere. The Imperial Lancer walked past him, he was probably heading back up to the castle. Then it hit him like baseball bat.

"Isara," he said while watching the Imperial, "I think I've got another plan, but I don't have time to clear it with everyone. I need you to follow me and do exactly as I say."

* * *

Back at the castle, Elysse's work lasted all day. The extreme caution exercised during the loading of ragnite fuel had made the process painstakingly slow. All the trucks and tanks parked out on the castle lawn were becoming an eyesore for Elysse, who was just beginning to appreciate the castle's subtle beauty.

The teenage lancer walked along a special hall towards the front of the keep. It was narrower than the others and glassless windows lined one side. Elysse was beat and could barely hold the decorative halberd in her hands. Alyssa wanted her and the rest of squad 8 to pose as militiamen and patrol every inch of the vast castle. She was sure she the task had added up to at least two miles.

Elysse was alerted to the sound of footsteps down the hall and around the corner. She mustered the remains of her energy and jogged forward. An Imperial soldier came around the corner.

"Hey!" Elysse aimed her halberd, "No soldiers this far into the castle, it's the Countess' orders."

The burly lancer didn't respond and Elysse worried about her next move. The Imperial took off his steel helmet and blurted, "Damn it Elysse would keep it down?"

Elysse's legs nearly gave out, it was Hector Calvey, "Hector?" she squealed, "Hector! When did you get here? How did you get that uniform?"

"I said keep it down!" boomed Hector, "I got here shortly after you guys. As for the wardrobe, well, it was the Imp's fault for letting his guard down. Gutless weakling."

Elysse knew she had to be quiet but she had so much to talk about, "Please tell me you brought an army. Oh, and let me be the first to say you were right about Alyssa, she doesn't care about us or Gallia for that matter, never did. She's on a total power trip right now, she thinks she's princess of the world."

"I know, I know. Look, I don't think we can wait for Gunther and the Calvary, we need to get out of here now."

"What about Ramsey and Claudia? We lost them our first day here."

"They're with Isara and I, she's the one who took me out here. Just take me to Lynn so we can brainstorm a plan."

Elysse didn't mean to bring up a touchy topic, but she felt she had to, "Um…do you think that'll be alright since, you know, you got kicked out of the squad?"

Hector bellowed so fiercely Elysse's ponytail fluttered, "Not important right now Moore!"

"Alright! Alright! But you need to listen. The girls and I all ran into a problem and um…"

"The water?"

"Yes, you know about it?"

Hector scratched his head, "I was kind of hoping you had a solution for that."

Elysse gave up hope for an easy escape and whined as she was accustomed to doing, "Great…Alyssa told me there's an antidote for the addiction but who knows what that is."

Hector rubbed his eyes and sighed, "Alright. Well, take me to Lynn anyway and maybe we can…"

The clop of Imperial boots shut them both up. Elysse didn't have time to react; someone was coming up behind her.

"What's going on here?" came a voice.

Elysse spun around to see and Imperial shocktrooper with a deadly ZM-MP slung over his chest-armor.

"Lancer, what are you doing this far into the castle?"

Hector didn't give him a straight answer, "Nothing, what are you doing here? Isn't everyone supposed to be helping with the ragnite?"

The shocktrooper back down quickly, stammering from under his steel mask, "T-that's none of your business. Um…"

He looked at Elysse, "Ma'am, do you know where I can find Aly-I mean the Countess?"

Elysse maintained her façade of a palace guard, "Well sir, the Countess is very busy right now so perhaps you should wait until later to see her."

"I don't think I can do that," said the shocktrooper. He checked to make sure they were alone before continuing, "Look, I'll make this clear for you."

The shocktrooper removed his helmet. His bluish black hair made Elysse's jaw drop. The handsome, pale-faced young man before her was a darcsen, and not just any darcsen.

"I don't get it," said Hector.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Elysse, "You're him! You're Dedric Reinhardt!"

Dedric smiled nervously, "Yeah, that's me, Alyssa's husband."

"The Hell? But…why are you in an Imperial Uniform?" asked Hector.

Elysse felt she had it all put together in her head, "Don't tell me yours and Alyssa's parents made you join two different armies?"

"Those's right," said Dedric sadly, "Our parents thought that if they sent one of us to Gallia and the other to the Empire they could garner favor from both countries and keep the war from hurting their business."

Elysse blurted the obvious risk that came with such an arrangement, "And what if you two killed each other in battle?"

"My dad said that the chances of the happening were low."

Hector snorted, "Interesting way to say "I love you"."

Dedric didn't look like he wanted to talk about it anymore, "Listen, can you just tell me where Alyssa is? This might be the only chance I get to see her."

Elysse couldn't answer his question, "I'm sorry, I don't know where she is."

"I see…"

Hector tapped Elysse on the shoulder and gave her a look. He wanted to tell him about their problem, but Elysse was hesitant to reveal her true nationality. In the end, she felt that if she didn't, Hector would.

"Mr. Reinhardt, before you go we need to fill you in on something important."

"We?" asked Dedric with a raised eyebrow, "Do you two know each other?"

"Yes," said Hector, "My name is Hector Calvey and this is Elysse Moore. We're Gallians."

Naturally, Dedric grabbed his gun but he pulled his hand away a second latter almost like he understood their plight, "You're stuck here, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Elysse, "Do you know what Alyssa and her parents do to people who travel through this town?"

"Of course."

"Do you know how to break the addiction?"

"You're not going to like my answer," said a defensive Dedric, "I can't help you. I'm sorry about your situation but that's how things are done here."

"How things are done?" Hector shook his fist, "Do you know what Alyssa's family does? They force innocent people to work for them and when they've done enough work, they're killed!"

Dedric shot back, "The exact same thing happens to thousands of darcsens every day! My people are the ones who get herded off like cattle to work until they die!"

The logic registered with Elysse, what Alyssa was doing to her was no different than what the Empire and Gallia did to darcsens.

"My family watched as scores of other darcsen families were wiped out, so forgive us if we're itching for a little retribution."

"But that's not fair to us!" pleaded Elysse.

Dedric turned around, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

Hector quickly went after him but the darcsen Imperial was in no mood, "Look, there's nothing you can say that…"

Hector grabbed Dedric's collar and threw him to the ground with a crack. Then, he put his boot over his neck.

Elysse shot towards them, "Hector stop it!"

Hector applied pressure and grinded his teeth, "Alright Imp, here's what's going to happen. My friend's lives are in serious danger right now, so you can either tell me what I can do to save them, or your lovely wife sleeps in an empty bed the rest of her life."

Dedric coughed, "Ugh! I'm not holding out! There's nothing I can do! Ugh, Alyssa is going to do what she wants! You can't stop her!"

Elysse yanked on Hector's bandana tails so he didn't kill him. Then she asked her question, "Can't you talk to her? She's your wife, can't you tell her to let us go."

"She won't listen to me damn it!" He looked embarrassed, "You two would probably have a better chance with her! She hates me!"

Elysse chuckled at the obvious, "No girl likes to be assigned a husband buddy."

"But I love her!" proclaimed Dedric, "I wanted to make it work but...she treated me like garbage, she acted like I wasn't even a man."

Although she didn't say it, Elysse felt bad for Dedric. In truth she felt bad for Alyssa too, but that was counterproductive considering she was their biggest villain at the moment. Elysse could never imagine being forced into marriage; the idea reminded her of her over-bearing father.

"Let him up Hector."

Hector hesitated.

"…Do it! You're always giving me orders after all!"

Hector lifted his boot and Dedric slowly clamored to his feet. He took a long breath and rubbed his eyes for what seemed like whole minutes, "…Okay, I'll help you. Are you familiar with the Failyne flower?"

Hector and Elysse exchanged glances, "No."

"It's one of the few flowers that grow in Barious. It's about three inches tall with orange petals; you can find it around town. They taste terrible, but three of them can break your addiction to the water."

It was so simple and sadly ironic; all the people who fell victim to the water never knew that they were walking over the cure.

"Can't believe it's that simple," said Hector.

"The best plans tend to be that way," Dedric smiled, "Just remember I didn't tell you that."

Elysse swore to it.

"It's getting late. The Imperials might ask questions if they see Mr. Calvey walking around here. There is a small moat running along this side of the castle, I suggest you use the window to get clear of this place."

Without blinking Hector bolted over to a window and started taking portions of his uniform off, "Thank you sir," he said.

Dedric nodded.

"But what about me?" asked Elysse disappointed that Hector was getting all the fun.

"Stay here and keep playing palace guard," said Hector with a laugh, "You're good at it, you should apply to be one of Princess Cordelia's guards."

"Very funny," said Elysse.

Hector got into the window frame as Dedric prepared to leave, "Just remember, I was never here, okay?"

Elysse felt a sudden splash of water on her face. Her mind was sluggish because of the hour, but she remembered the sharp crack of a rifle echoing off the stone walls. It wasn't water; her face and chest were matted with blood. She saw a gaping exit wound in Hector's chest which stained the whole front of his gray shirt red. Seconds after, her friend and comrade tumbled helplessly out the window.

"HECTOR!" cried Elysse while trying to catch him.

Down the dark hallway, Alyssa slammed the bolt of her rifle forward and said nothing. She just watched from the darkness, only her eyes visible in the darkness.

Elysse squealed, "What have you done?"

"It didn't have to end this way Elysse, couldn't you have just played nicely until the Imperials left?"

"You killed him!" Elysse was so angry she almost threw up, "You inhuman bitch!"

"Alyssa!"

Alyssa's beady eyes grew a little wider at the sight of her husband. Dedric had his hands up and walked in front of Elysse. He did his best to remain calm in the face of his wife's actions, "Um, I-I…I was going to surprise you. I-I thought you'd be with the Gallian army but when I heard you were here I felt I had to see you."

Alyssa smiled and ran her tongue across a couple teeth, "Hmph, and what makes you think _I_ wanted to see _you_?"

"I don't care if you hate me Alyssa. We're married, and like it or not I love you."

"Shut up!" shouted Alyssa, "I don't love you! I hate you! I hate everyone! Gallians, Imperials, I hate them all!"

Alyssa aimed her rifle, but her husband didn't move. Elysse had to admire Dedric's courage, she herself felt like she could pass out from fear and moment. No amount courage would save either of them, Elysse was about to find out how helpless the darcsen Countess really was.

"My heart…doesn't belong to you."

More blood washed over Elysse. The bullet passed through Dedric's head and whizzed by her ear. Elysse's hands were too bloody to catch his body before it hit the ground. This was the first tie Elysse had seen a corpse and she knew that the feeling would be burned into her forever.

"Y-You…" Elysse couldn't bear the feeling to two sets of blood on her face. Hector and now Dedric, It was so much she fell to her knees and started to cry. Tears red with blood from her face began to drizzle on the floor. Elysse closed her eyes and cried out loud, wishing that she had never joined the militia, wishing that she'd never listened to her father.

Alyssa pulled her to her feet, "Elysse…You're the one that really matters to me."

Elysse threw her knuckles into the girl's face. The blow sent Alyssa spinning but didn't take her down. She recovered and looked back with a bloody snarl, "How dare you!"

What? Thought Elysse. Her rifle was still hot and _she_ was the one saying that? Elysse grabbed her halberd and stuck it in Alyssa's face, "If I had more courage I'd kill you right now!"

The Countess looked like she couldn't quite understand, "Kill me? B-But didn't you hear what I said?"

Elysse's eyes darted to Dedric's body, then to Alyssa, "Yes I did…but you killed the only person who loved you."

"What? B-But if you don't like me then why did you say all those nice things to me?"

"Nice things?"

Alyssa stabbed her fingers and yelled, "You didn't treat me like all the other soldiers did! You said I was a good person and that I had character! Were you just playing games with me because we were in the militia together?"

Elysse felt trapped by her own words as she realized that she was the first person to reach out to Alyssa. If only she knew who she was really reaching out to.

"…I need to show you something," said Alyssa innocently.

Elysse stuck her halberd out, "No!"

In a split second Alyssa drew her sword and severed the wooden pole of the halberd. Either her halberd was really cheap or Alyssa's swordplay was really good. Elysse put her hands up and listened to the verdict.

"Don't test me. Remember, just because I like you doesn't mean I can't hurt one of your friends."


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria Chronicles or its characters._

* * *

_**CHAPTER SEVEN**_

* * *

Being shot was the worst thing a human being could go through and Hector could remember every moment of it. It felt like a powerful punch to his back followed by searing pain so intense it sent him over a forty foot wall. He couldn't remember much after that, once he hit the water he couldn't swim because of his wound. He was pulled out but it took until midnight for the pain to pass.

Hector awoke on a feeble wooden table inside of a dark tent. All around him soldiers were talking but he couldn't make out words. His wound was closed and once his vision came back, he realized there was only one place he could possibly be.

A middle-aged Imperial Engineer leaned over him, "Take it easy big guy, you're lucky you woke up so soon."

Hector smiled and tried to relax. He must have been rescued by the Imperials mistaken for one of their own. Perfect, how long could he keep a façade like this up? He didn't know anything about his enemy.

"The bullet passed right through you, must have been a sniper rifle that did you in," explained the Engineer, "And it missed your lung so you won't need any surgery."

Hector tried to move his left arm but pain arrested his efforts. The chatter of the soldiers around him became clearer.

"We need to find who did this and shoot 'em on sight!" said one soldier.

"But we don't know who did it," said another.

"3rd Platoon said that they can't find one of their Shocktroopers."

"See? I told you this place was messed up."

The tent suddenly opened up and everyone went silent. Hector sat up and swallowed hard at what could only be the CO of the Company. General Gregor looked him straight in the eye, "Lancer, listen to me carefully. What were you doing in that castle and who attacked you?"

A lot went through Hector's mind quickly, if he singled out Alyssa would Gregor only attack her or burn the entire town to the ground? As much as he hated Alyssa, he didn't want innocent people to get hurt.

"I-I'm sorry sir, I just wanted to do some walking. I never saw who shot me."

The General scowled a little and pulled back, "That's a shame. I sympathize with your condition but I'll still have to give you a work detail for wandering off when I specifically told everyone not to wander."

Gregor had the whole tent in his hand, "Am I clear gentlemen?"

"Yes sir!"

"And I want volunteers to find the Countess and bring her to me so I can question her."

Nobody volunteered. They looked downright scared to Hector. The only officer present eventually stepped forward and offered to do it. Attention began to drift away from Hector and the Engineer tending to him suggested that he go back to his squad and take it easy. If only Hector knew which squad that was.

"Is the ragnite ready to move yet?" asked Gregor, "If it is, I want all these trucks out of this hellhole as soon as possible."

"But sir, what about the men?"

"They remain just in case we need them."

Again Hector didn't know what to think, if Gregor planned on attacking, he had to make sure they attacked Alyssa and not squad 8. Before he left, the general in question tossed something onto Hector's stomach. It was an Imperial medal for a soldier wounded in action.

* * *

At the heart of the Reinhardt castle was a vast dining hall. Elysse grabbed a fancy table napkin and wiped the rest of the blood off her face.

"Why did you kill them?" she barked.

The Countess straitened her black dress and took a seat on the table and gazed up like a zombie at the family portrait above a fireplace, "I didn't kill Mr. Calvey, I'm sure we will be seeing him again soon."

"And Dedric?"

Alyssa continued to stare at her portrait, "In the short time I've known you, I've heard you talk a lot about your father. It was never anything good."

She was right, but Elysse couldn't believe she absentmindedly talked about her dad that much, "Yes, I guess you're right, but what does that have to do with your husband?"

"He made you join the militia, right?"

"Now wait a second," said Elysse, "Nobody forced me to join the militia; my dad said that it'd be a good way to toughen my psyche and I thought it'd help my work ethic. I know where you're going with this so look at me!"

Alyssa lazily craned her neck.

"You and I aren't the same. Lancer may not have been my career choice but I do my best. You not only kick and scream about being in the militia, you murder. You're worse than any Imperial ethnicity aside."

Alyssa suddenly crackled, "You need some lessons in oration dear, is that the best you can do?"

She pointed to a woman in her family portrait, "That was my aunt. Four years ago she and I were arrested in the Empire on phony charges, something quite routine with darcsens. They didn't know who they were dealing with and my father swore to make the authorities pay, but until then we were sent to a work camp. Weeks past and my aunt couldn't work anymore. So the warden, the sick bastard that he was, ordered me to kill her or we'd both be executed. I ended up doing it."

Elysse's stomach churned a little. It all could have been a lie, but she had heard far worse stories about darcsens in work camps.

"Two days later, my father and over a hundred darcsen militiamen from this town burned the camp to the ground. The warden said that he'd rather die than surrender to a darcsen and killed himself. That day I learned an important lesson: life is too fragile to be valuable."

"Is that why you killed Dedric?"

"As soon as we were married he started talking about moving away from Maisel and living in some town called Bruhl. If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before something bad happened again, but he just didn't get that."

Elysse sighed and took a seat making sure to face away from Alyssa. Life was too fragile to be valuable huh? Elysse had to admit that there were times on the battlefield when she thought the same, but fragile didn't mean expendable.

"I guess this is the part when I'm supposed to win you over with a speech about how you can change."

"No. Because that's my part."

The two characters faced each other from across the table, "I don't know why, but I want you here by my side. You can be my advisor, steward, whatever you want."

"Are you joking?"

"Be honest, you don't like being in the militia do you? And from what you say about your father, you don't like your family either."

Elysse was about to argue that she liked both the militia and her family, even if it was hard, but she suddenly thought of the perfect plan to stop Alyssa. Well, it was more of a theory than a plan, she needed to work out the details and make sure Alyssa played along.

"Okay…If you want me to stay here with you, you have to do two things for me. First, let the rest of squad 8 go."

"And the second?"

"You wouldn't let a whole Company of Imperials here without a way to defend yourself. I want you to fight them off."

"Fight them off? I'm doing business with them."

"You killed one of their own; do you really think their CO is going to let a darcsen get away with that? You may not like Gallia, but you've seen what the Eastern Empire does to darcsens, you can't bargain with them."

The Countess was getting the message, but still looked conflicted, which was odd for a sharp mind like hers. The plan was working perfectly.

"Just wait and see," said Elysse, "Your customers are going to turn on you."

* * *

Hector emerged from his makeshift hospital healthy but still aching. The muscles in his left arm burned at the slightest movement so even putting on his lancer helmet. Trucks loaded with ragnite and fuel were sprawled out all around him. Most of them were running, were they planning to leave soon? He jogged over to one.

"Hey! What's going on? Are we moving out?"

"Affirmative," said the driver, "General Gregor says that our pickets have caught sight of Gallian militia in the area so he wants the trucks out of here by tonight."

"What about the rest of the Company?"

The Engineer that helped Hector slapped him on his good shoulder, "We stay here, the Countess is refusing to speak with the General about our missing soldiers and that's getting his blood hot."

Hector tried not to smile, he said soldiers _plural._ Dedric was dead and none of them had a clue that their missing lancer was in the not-so-comfy care of three Gallian girls in town.

"So what do we do now?"

"Arm ourselves and hope that Gregor doesn't blow his top."

That seemed like a bad scenario for everyone. One Company of Imperials didn't have a chance of taking a castle that size and even if they did, they'd have the militia to contend with a second latter. It was hard to say what would happen; both General Gregor and Alyssa didn't seem like the yielding types.

All the trucks began to move at once. All that would remain would be a couple tanks and around 150 armed Imperials. He hoped Elysse had a plan, because he sure as hell didn't.

* * *

The basement of the castle was empty now that the ragnite had been moved. Elysse wasn't good at math but she figured the whole basement had to be 50 feet all around. A couple of leaks made the air damp and smelly. The lack of clutter allowed Elysse and the rest of squad 8 to see what they hadn't before, and iron door locked so tight even the best of thieves couldn't touch it.

"Wonder what surprise Alyssa has in there," mused Lynn. Elysse's comrades had all gathered and Alyssa would meet them in a minute. In the mean time, everyone was curious as to what Elysse was thinking.

"Okay, here's what's going on. Alyssa has agreed to drive the Imperials from Maisel with her own forces. Once that's done, she'll let us go."

Freesia shook her head so fast her earrings almost flew off, "No, no, no, you can't trust her!"

"Just calm down and let me explain, once the shooting starts…"

Elysse was cut off by the sound of high heels clopping down the stairs. The darcsen Countess strode past everyone with an arched back and high chin. She noted their anxiety.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill any of you."

"Did you say the same to your husband?" snapped Ramona. A stern look routed her quickly. With a key, Alyssa opened the door.

The room was pitch black.

"I told you I could defeat the Imperials, but here is the deal. Once I do, everyone but Elysse will be allowed to leave."

Everyone looked at Elysse like she was crazy for making such a deal. It bothered the young lancer that they couldn't she was doing it for their sake. Alyssa threw some levers and the lights came on. The sight was amazing.

"It's Failyne," explained Alyssa, "Both it and the flower are your tickets out of here."

Failyne wasn't just a flower, it was a menacing tank. Almost the size of the Edelwiess, it was rectangular and boxy with gouges all over its hull. Its tracks were wide and armored; its chassis was squared like it was built before the discovery of sloped armor. Its turret was shaped like a horse shoe and its 88 millimeter gun looked like it could hit targets a mile away.

Like a game show host detailing a prize, Alyssa presented Failyne, "It looks old because it is old. It has been with my family for over a decade. Despite its age it's more advanced than anything Gallia and the Empire can field."

If only the paint was better, the entire thing was flat gray. The only splash of color was an orange flower on the turret with the word "Failyne" underneath.

"T-This can stop an entire Company?" asked Freesia.

Lynn crossed her arms while admiring the machine, "Darcsen engineering York, never underestimate it."

"My best tankers will operate it," said Alyssa as she gracefully leapt up to the turret, "It has never lost a battle."

Lynn whispered to Elysse now that Alyssa was out of earshot, "_So what's the real plan, you're not going to stay here are you?_"

"_No_," said Elysse confident that Alyssa was falling into her trap, "_We're going to let the battle play out. And when it's over, we'll see how Alyssa likes being shot in the back._"

* * *

Outside the castle, all the trucks were gone. Hector had 360 degrees of unobstructed view. Maisel was behind him and then desert of Barious sprawled out to the left and right of the castle. The trucks were heading into the desert, away from the main roads. Soldiers began to fall into their squads. Their only two tanks crawled into position and aimed their turrets at the castle. Hector frantically looked at everything on his uniform but still couldn't find any indication of what squad he belonged to. He couldn't hide it for much longer.

"Hey!" the Engineer he was familiar with found him, "I thought I told you to get with your squad?"

"General Gregor is crazy if he thinks we can win a battle out here. Look around, we've got no cover."

"That's not your call Lancer."

Thankfully their conversation was interrupted as the drawbridge in front of the castle began to lower. In front of it were several soldiers and a jeep with an officer in it. It wasn't Gregor, so Hector suspected him to be a second in command or something. Would there be a peaceful ending after all?

The drawbridge hit the ground…and then a tank round blew the jeep to smithereens.

"What the hell?" cried the Engineer before running away. Hector watched as a monstrous gray tank with "Failyne" written on the side crawled out from the depths of the castle, effortlessly pushing aside the flaming wreckage of the jeep. Its turret let out a terrible, demonic groan and destroyed the Imperial tank behind Hector. Men and gray and red uniforms charged out of the castle, guns blazing. The Imperials returned fired and killed a few of them, but what few men they had in firing position were mowed down by gunfire from Failyne. Alyssa's soldiers began wading into the moat and using the bank as cover. Their bolt action rifles were slow but accurate.

When a scout was killed near Hector's location, a weapon became available. He scooped up a loaded Kar rifle and began returning fire with everyone else. After five rounds he realized just how inaccurate Imperial weapons were and fished for ammo on the scout's body. Meanwhile, Alyssa's men began to grow in number.

An Imperial tank fired and blasted a hole in the moat, killing at least two. Failyne noticed this and put a shell across its turret. The Imperial tank returned fire to no avail. Hector shielded his face as their last tank's turret was blown ten feet into the air.

"Fall back! Fall back!" soldiers began to shout. The Imperials began to fall back, some into town, others into the countryside. It was a long stretch of open land from Hector's position to the town, but if he didn't risk it he'd be killed for sure. More bullets began to rain on them; Alyssa's men were firing from the castle top. Hector dropped his rifle and ran for it.

Maisel was in a panic, people locked their doors and windows as fast as they could. Only a handful of soldiers made it into town, the rest had gone into the desert.

"Stop running! Stop running!" One by one all the soldiers with Hector came to a stop. A Shocktrooper ripped his helmet off and ran in front of everyone, "We're going the wrong way, the Company is regrouping in the desert!"

The temporary calm was shattered by an exploding tank shell behind them. Now Hector was really scared, could Failyne shoot that far? Before he knew it, they were surrounded by men and women with rifles ordering them all to get on the ground. The Gallain Militia had arrived and Edelwiess blocked the whole street. Even though they couldn't recognize him, Hector felt so relieved to be restrained.

"You seem pretty calm," said Marina, the girl cuffing him.

"That's because you're being so gentle," said Hector. Marina recognized his voice and pulled his helmet off for everyone to see. The real Imperials were taken away and Welkin came off his tank, "Hector? I can't believe you're alright."

"I can't believe you found this place."

Welkin smiled and smacked the top of the driver's hatch, "Well I couldn't just leave my little sister here."

Isara's muffled voice complained, "Welkin, please don't do that."

"Ramsey and Claudia filled me in on everything, so what are we dealing with?"

Hector turned and pointed up the hill towards the battle, "The Imperials are fighting Alyssa's men at the castle."

"Perfect," said Welkin, "Let's get up there."

"Wait a second, there's a tank up too. I don't know what type but it cut us to ribbons."

Welkin pulled out his binoculars, "Really? What is that thing?"

Hector wanted to say that it was no match for the Edelwiess but the last thing they needed was a jinx.

"Alright," said Welkin, "Let's take it out. Want to come with us?"

Hector wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Riding in the Edelwiess sounded like a good idea, but the metal played hell with Hector's allergies. Inside, Isara sat to his right separated by a shelf with radios. A machine gun with a small sight sat in front of Hector, but he doubted he could shoot strait with all the bouncing.

"God, how do you see where you're going in this thing?" asked Hector.

Isara glanced at him through a hole in the radio equipment, "Usually I just let Welkin direct me."

Hector couldn't take any more of the shaking and noise so he popped the hatch. The Imperials had been beaten; numerous bodies and two burned out tanks were Alyssa's new lawn decorations. Failyne sat in front of the drawbridge.

"Might want to get inside Hector."

He would in a second. Edelwiess stopped and fired leaving him temporarily deaf. In the distance, the shell struck Failyne in the turret but didn't do a thing. Hector immediately closed the hatch.

"No good!"

Isara carefully maneuvered via small steering wheel, "We hit it but it's not firing back. And now it looks like it's trying to get out of our range."

"Is it trying to get away?"

"I don't know! Just be quiet and let me drive!"

Edelwiess' second shot rocked everyone. Welkin cursed from up in the turret, "Damn it, two direct hits and it's still going."

Hector couldn't understand why Failyne wasn't shooting back. Was Alyssa just playing with them?

"I'm lining up another one!" called Welkin. Hector waited patiently to see if the third shot would do it.

A massive explosion sent Isara and Hector bouncing off the walls like golf balls. For a big man like Hector it wasn't that painful, but Isara's face smashed against the steering wheel.

"Isara!"

Isara covered her bloody face and tried not to cry, "I-Im alright…it's just my nose."

Failyne had hit them in the hull. So this was what it was like to be shot by another tank.

"Isara get us moving again!"

"How do you two do this?" thought Hector aloud.

"Do what?"

"Do battle in this damned coffin!"

"I'll thank you not to refer to this magnificent machine as a coffin!"

Bullets began to rain all over the Edelwiess; they must have come in range of the militiamen. Hector used his machine gun but his line of sight was a slave to Isara's driving. It sounded like the Gallians were giving it thier all.

"How are we doing?"

"We can't get a clear shot at it because it keeps moving around."

"Failyne isn't scared of us is it?"

"Isara!" called Welkin, "I want you to get as close as you can to that thing after it fires again, can you do that?"

"I'll try Welks."

Hector decided to give the machine gun a rest and hang on. He felt an explosion outside the tank like Failyne had fired and missed.

"Now!"

Isara put the pedal to the metal.

Hanging onto his seat, Hector felt the Edelwiess fire. A wave of explosive energy blanked them all. Did that…do it? Isara called up to Welkin with the same question.

"I blew a hole in its side! We did it!"

The gunfire from outside began to die down. The radio was alive with the chatter of squad leaders reporting that their enemy was in retreat back to the castle. Hector decided to take advantage of the calm and get some air.

* * *

Failyne. Advanced or not, Hector was glad it was gone. Thick, black smoke billowed from the monster's wound and as soon as he touched it the engine began to catch fire. Nobody could have survived, but Hector cautiously walked around the wreckage anyway.

A hand popped out of the turret.

"Freeze!" Hector brought his rifle up, "Out with your hands up!"

Failyne's commander came out, it was Lynn.

"Oh my God!"

Hector tried to pull her out but she was too injured to move. The flames began to lick at their heels. Lynn was covered in blood and could barely speak, "We tried…not to hit you."

Failyne wasn't scared of Edelweiss, Lynn just didn't want to hurt them.

"No…" said Hector as he looked at her wounds, "No...NO!"

Like a madman, Hector jumped onto the hull and pulled the driver's hatch open. Freesia was dead at the wheel. He saw the same result in Ramona when he opened the port-gunner's hatch. They must have been killed instantly by the blast. Hector screamed inside, what had they done? What had he done? He took Lynn in his arms. She was on her last heartbeat, "Tell Karl…I'm sorry for leaving him. Hector…I'm sorry I got us into this…" She died mid-breath.

Hector's hands shook uncontrollably, but even in the face of tragedy he didn't have a chance to grieve. Failyne's radio crackled.

"Hello Hector," it was Alyssa, "It's sad we can't see each other face to face now, so I'll have to imagine what you look like. I'll wager you look defeated and heartbroken, clinging to one of your dead friends perhaps. I know it's sad, but you have to admit I played this very well. I knew the militia would be here, but your friends didn't. I'll make this clear, Elysse is alive and well but so are my men. Tell the militia to withdraw, or someone will be clinging to _your_ corpse soon."

She had the audacity to say that to him? Was this her plan all along? To make him kill his friends and then laugh about it? Hector picked up his rifle, "Darcsen bitch!" he shot the radio until into scrap metal.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: My brain hurts as I post this. This is the last chapter and I've worked very hard on it, I really hope it's a fitting ending for the story. Thank you for reading and thank you for all the reviews.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria chronicles or it's characters._

* * *

_**CHAPTER EIGHT**_

* * *

The air of Barious was dry as usual and could make an already tired soldier even more tired. The militia was carefully parked on the Reinhardt castle's dusty lawn in such a way that they were protected but not disruptive. After all, they didn't need the whole town of Maisel bearing down on them. The Gallian militia was on end, Hector could see that from his position on the burned out remains of the Failyne. He was waiting for someone more official to handle the bodies of his friends and wasn't going to waste time changing out of his Imperial uniform. All the heartbroken Lancer could do was languish alone. He was too last in thought to notice his visitors, Ramsey and Claudia.

"Ugh…" Claudia was holding her mouth like she was going to be sick, "Tastes like sour milk and sweaty feet."

Hector didn't know what she was talking about but Ramsey cleared things up. She was clutching a bundle of orange flowers and looking just as sick, "I don't care if it makes me sick, I'm easting every Failyne I can find and then…ugh man…"

Claudia presented Hector with three of the orange flowers and tried to smile, "Come on, this is what we've been waiting for."

Hector bit the tip off of one but couldn't taste anything. He was already too sick to feel the effects.

"So what's going on?" he asked. Ramsey shoved three more flowers into her mouth, "Captain Varrot is on the radio with Lieutenant Gunther and the soldiers are starting to turn on each other. Every darcsen-hater and his grandmother is picking a fight so…Urk."

Ramsey cupped her mouth and ran off like she needed to vomit.

"Um, Hector?" asked Claudia like a shy school girl, "There's a lot of talk going around about darcsens and I know it's because of what's happening but…"

Hector was in no mood for random conversation, "What Claudia?"

"After you came up here you shouted "Darcsen…you know what", and it made Isara a little nervous."

Hector could understand why, but honestly he just said the first thing that came into his mind. It was true that Alyssa was a darcsen and her soldiers were predominantly the same race, but Hector felt he could look himself in the mirror and say his hatred for the Countess was race-blind. In fact, he had forgotten the color of her hair color up until the tank battle.

"Claudia, I'm not a darcsen hater, I was just angry and…"

"I know," said Claudia with an adorable smile, "But Isara wanted me to give you something."

Hector was presented with a small cloth doll with a stitched face and detailed shawl, "It's a darcsen good-luck doll, Isara said she made it just for you."

Hector wanted to smile but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't, "T-Thank you but…why?"

"We just want you to remember all the good darcsens you know, that's all. That and…" Claudia seemed to have a little pent up rage itching to get out, "Just forget about Alyssa and everyone in this backwards town! They're all going to isolate themselves into extinction sooner or later!"

It looked like they were getting some more visitors. Isara was leading a depressed Welkin up to the Failyne by the sleeve.

"Why does Welkin look so down?" asked Claudia. Hector jumped off the tank and prepared for the worse, it took a lot for someone like Welkin to get depressed.

"Just try not to think about it Welks," said Isara while walking, "We've got more problems."

Welkin let his head hang lower than his shoulders, "I've been demoted by Captain Varrot. While in Barious I was sort of given ad hoc command of the militia but now…"

"Why?" was Hector's first question.

"Where do I start? I've diverted half the militia to the middle of nowhere, I got three of our own killed by friendly fire and started a war with a darcsen dynasty. The militia is a laughing stock right now and the Captain wants to know how one sixteen year old girl has managed to outsmart officers twice her age."

Hector pondered that last part for a second. It was true that Alyssa always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone since day one. She knew it too, that's why she was so haughty and arrogant. Both those traits could be considered weaknesses as well as strengths but Hector wished she had something more exploitable. It all seemed moot at the moment though.

"So what do we do now?" asked Hector.

Welkin pulled off his Garrison cap and brushed the sand out of it, "I've got to get everyone out of here ASAP. Captain Varrot says the regular army will take over and try to negotiate Elysse's release."

More bad news. If the militia and Imperial army couldn't handle that girl, no way the Regular army could.

"But there's got to be something we can do," asked Claudia.

Welkin shook his head, "No, we have to be out of here within the hour."

Over at the castle, the drawbridge began to drop without warning. Hector grabbed his Kar rifle and wondered what kind of fresh hell they were in for now.

As the drawbridge hit the other side of the moat, every blue uniform available had a gun trained on the opening. Long seconds past. Hector watched from a distance as three of Alyssa's soldiers fearlessly stepped out. Two of them looked pretty mundane but the tall woman leading them was very distinct. She called in full voice, "My name is Elaina, Captain of the Reinhardt militia, may I please speak with the officer in command?"

Welkin gulped and asked Hector, Isara and Claudia to accompany him.

* * *

There were few women Hector knew that intimidated him and Elaina was one of those women. She was taller than Welkin with long flowing hair of a bluish-black color and her sharp green eyes were accented by narrow glasses. Hector noticed the details of her uniform which unlike Gallia's, didn't vary with gender. They were all grey trimmed with dark red decorated with simple iron buttons. Isara and Claudia stood behind Welkin who did his best to keep his bearing, "Lieutenant Gunther, I'm in command here."

Elaina ran her hand through her hair, "I won't mince words. The Countess has sent me to expedite your departure."

"And what about our Lancer?"

"You're not in a position to negotiate. However…"

If Hector didn't know any better he'd say Elaina was on the verge of helping them.

"Listen, the Countess sent me to make sure you leave, but I believe we can make a deal."

Great, more deals. He spoke up without thinking, "Shove it and give us back Elysse."

Elaina shot him a fiery glare, "And you are?"

"Hector Calvey; and that girl you have is my friend."

"I understand Mr. Calvey, but right now I might be your only hope. Look, most of my soldiers are uneasy, we've already lost a lot of men fighting the Imperials and we don't want to lose more fighting you."

Elaina's eyes began to dart back and forth like she was a nervous wreck inside, "If you would be willing…we would like to invite a small number of you into a plan the men and I have been working on."

Plan? Hector dared to say the first thing that came into his mind, "You want to get Alyssa away from the steering wheel don't you?"

Welkin jumped at such notion, "A coup? You want our help in a coup?"

Eleanor pushed her glasses up, "We prefer to call it a removal. If Alyssa's parents are away, then by law the Countess is allowed to rule Maisel in a limited capacity, but she's gone way outside her bounds by mobilizing the town militia. If we can isolate her until her parents return we can save your friend and prevent another meaningless battle."

Hector surveyed faces. Welkin was struggling with his decision and Isara and Claudia were understandably wary.

"You really don't like the Countess?" asked Isara.

Elaina kept a stern face, "In private, the men and I have referred to Alyssa as _The Darcsen Calamity_."

Creative, if not a little disturbing. Hector had heard of the so-called Darcsen Calamity, it was an unconfirmed ancient disaster blamed on the darcsen race. It was disturbing to hear it used as a title.

"What would you want us to do?" Welkin asked.

"Lie for us. Tell the Countess that you've called for reinforcements and plan on occupying the town until she stands down."

Again Hector's enthusiasm got the better of him, "Before we do anything you have to be sure that the majority of your boys are in on this plan."

"You seem to like interrupting your CO a lot Mr. Calvey," said Elaina embarrassing him, "I know almost every man in the Reinhardt militia. We'll be fine."

Welkin rubbed his chin, "Could you give us a second?"

Elaina complied and led her men back across the drawbridge. Hector snapped, "I don't like this at all, I say we storm the place and get Elysse back by force."

Welkin wasn't in tune with the Lancer's gung-ho mentality, "And get more people killed? Lynn, Freesia and Ramona were all popular; morale is bad right now."

Isara gave her two cents, "If we go through with this, we're only risking our lives and no one else's."

"I think it's worth a shot," said Claudia.

Hector was outvoted. Great, they all knew of Alyssa's knack for trickery yet they were still inclined to do something so risky?

"It's decided," said the Lieutenant before calling to Elaina, "How many of us do you want?"

"As few non-darcsens as possible if you don't mind."

Isara tugged on Welkin's sleeve, "I'm going with you Welks."

"So am I," said Hector. To put down any argument, he brought up his Kar and slammed a clip in.

* * *

This was only Hector's second time inside of the Reinhardt castle but it still felt like he was stepping 400 years back in time. Elaina led him, Welkin and Isara down a long foyer decorated with paintings and red tapestries bearing the Reinhardt crest. There were no windows so candles and torches splashed the dark halls with dull orange. It was so quiet that no matter how lightly Hector walked, it sounded like he was stomping.

"It's so…dreary," said Isara while looking all around.

Elaina cleared her throat like she wasn't happy with her comment, "This castle was built in 1598 and has been renovated and built onto twice. The throne room lies directly ahead and on top of it is the dining hall. Living quarters take up most of the second floor and the third floor is a combination of libraries and militia quarters. Built off the back is a tall tower where the family bedrooms are located, it's the place where Alyssa sleeps. We can confront her there."

Hector formulated a quick plan to end their troubles and all it included was a pillow and midnight. They all turned down a corridor that led to the back of the castle. It felt like they were all marching down a dank mine-shaft. Soldiers passed by them every so often which prompted Welkin to ask, "I know I've asked this before but are you sure this is what your men want?"

Elaina brought them to a sudden halt and got the attention of two nearby soldiers, "Either of you men want to answer the Gallian's question?"

A soldier behind Hector spoke up, "The Countess' actions cross the bounds of her power. By law she must be removed before more darcsens die."

The second soldier thumped his rifle on the floor in agreement.

"I'm not going to say this again, you have nothing to fear from my militia. If you want out of this plan, you can leave at any time, but if you're not you need to shut up and stop acting so immature."

Hector was all set to leave but Welkin and Isara didn't share his sentiment. There was something strange about Elaina's words though, he remembered hearing them before.

"Now be warned," said Elaina as she led them to the back of the castle, "This tower was built to suit Queen Reinhardt's artistic tastes."

With a long groan the doors to the tower swung open. None of them could prepare for the sight. The six story tower was decorated with windows that let moonlight checker the floor. Flag poles draped red flags down the walls and around half a dozen doors led to rooms all around the tower. The strangest part was that each room had its own thinly-supported stone staircase making the whole tower look like a spider web of steps crossing each other in every direction. None of them had railings either.

"Hope you guys aren't afraid of heights," said Elaina as she pointed to the highest room, "Because that's where we're going."

Isara's big eyes got even bigger, "This is so dangerous, have you ever had an accident back here?"

"No, most of us have used these stairs since we were kids."

Elaina began to glide up the steps to the main bedroom. Hector tried to follow but after a few feet he started to feel queasy. The steps were only a foot and a half wide! "…Okay, I'm out," he retreated, "You guys do your best, I'll keep watch from down here."

Welkin and Isara swallowed hard and caught up with Elaina. Hector felt so pathetic, a veteran soldier like him bested by a set of highly unorthodox stairs. After a lot of starting and stopping, the crew reached the bedroom 70 feet in the air. Hector tried waving but Welkin understandably refrained from sudden movement. There was a small lip in front of the room for the doors to open and when they did, all Hector could do was wait and hope for the best. Yeah right.

Moments went by and Hector checked his Kar rifle for the millionth time. A loud thump and the bedroom doors flew open, not good. Isara screamed and rolled out of the room and over the lip in front of the doors. She managed to grab on and dangle by one hand. The sight scrambled Hector's stomach, "Isara? Isara!"

There was no way he could climb so many stairs in time and there was no way he could catch her if she fell.

"Help! Someone!"

A terrible laughter echoed down the tower. Alyssa emerged from her parent's room clad in a gothic black dress with white frills. The ribbons in her hair fluttered in the desert wind. She aimed her thin silver blade at Hector below, "You just don't give up do you?"

Elaina was wrong, Alyssa couldn't be reasoned with. Hector whipped up his rifle and fired. The Countess jumped an awe-inspiring distance to land gracefully on another set of steps below her.

"Trying to use my own people against me? I'll admit I didn't see that coming."

"Shut up!" Hector fired again but missed.

Alyssa leapt to yet another staircase and her smile made it look like she had a mouth full of sharpened teeth "How many of your friends need to die before you realize you've lost? Don't you know who I am? Alyssa Reinhardt: The Darcsen Calamity!"

Hector lined up another shot but Isara's arm gave out. She screamed and fell but miraculously she grabbed hold of a jutting flag pole that her petite body didn't break. Unfortunately, Alyssa had vanished into one of the other rooms.

"Hector! Help me!"

She was twenty feet up and Hector couldn't reach her. Distressed and scared, Isara complained, "Don't just stand there looking up my skirt, do something!"

"Just let go, I'll catch you!"

"Please do!"

After a long moment of hesitation Isara let go and fell on target. The fall forced a screech of pain from Hector who's shoulder wound was still tender.

"She came right at us," explained Isara, "She attacked Elaina and this other girl grabbed Welkin. He's still up there."

"Other girl?" Hector craned his neck upwards. A hurt Elaina went rolling out the doors but didn't go over like Isara. A girl in a gothic dress similar to Alyssa's revealed herself. It was Elysse, and her explanation wasn't befitting to the situation, "Hector…just forget about me! Get out of here!" she quickly slammed the doors shut.

"Elysse?" said Hector to himself, "Are you helping her?"

Elaina wiped the blood from her mouth and called down, "Someone want to tell me why this Lancer of yours is helping the Countess?"

It was a question Hector didn't have the time to contemplate. He was a born leader and not afraid to take things into his own hands now that plan A had failed, "We'll figure that out later. Right now I want Isara to get outside and tell the militia what's happened. Tell them if we can't fix this in 30 minutes, storm the castle."

Elaina reached the bottom on the tower repulsed, "You can't do that!"

"You're not in a position to negotiate," said Hector throwing her earlier words back in her face.

"Watch who you're talking to!"

That was it, something was wrong with Elaina. Hector marched up and grabbed her face, much to her discomfort, "What's the matter with you?"

Hector studied her features. Her eyes were green, sharp and mature beyond her age. It was so clear, "What are you and Alyssa? Cousins? Siblings?"

She got away and told the shocking truth, "Sisters."

"Sisters? Why didn't you say so?" asked Isara

"It's a long story. Alyssa was always the better candidate for Countess and I wanted a more humble life so I joined the militia. We led separate lives since birth."

"Sisters or not our CO is in danger, Isara?"

The young darcsen nodded and dashed off to relay the order.

"This is a big mistake," said Elaina.

"Well we've got 30 minutes to find out. Let's try and find her."

* * *

There were about ten rooms total and they all had to be cleared. Elaina checked the ones to the left while Hector took the right. It was a painfully slow process, every room required a long trip up and long trip down because none of the stairways were connected. Unless you wanted to jump of course. Every so often Hector's foot would slip and subsequently make his life flash before him. This added a lot of time as well. He talked with Elaina between rooms and kept a close eye on the time.

He opened another door. It was a nice bedroom, if you liked red. It had a single bed and three windows of different sizes. The whole room diverged from a single oval rug in the middle. There were several places to hide but Alyssa didn't strike him as the hiding type. What did strike him was an item sitting on a desk.

It was a doll. Hector picked it up and realized it was the same darcsen good-luck doll he got from Isara, only this one was a girl and instead of a smock she had a black dress.

"Is this…her?" take away the doll's smiling face and it looked a little like Alyssa. Then it hit him, he was in Dedric's room. He must have made that doll for his future wife.

Hector's blood began to boil while remembering the poor boy's fate but instead of giving into anger this time, he wondered if he'd finally found what he was looking for: a weakness. After tossing the doll up and down in his hand a few times, he knew it was now or never.

"How much time did you spend with him as a kid Alyssa?" Hector started walking around the room, "Did you know each other as kids or was the marriage a recent thing?"

Hector kept a close eye on the closet and drapes, "Did you feel anything when you killed him?" Still nothing, "Or are you really as cold as you want us to think? I don't think so. You didn't kill Lynn, Freesia and Ramona, we did. You didn't kill Cezary either; you only wounded him because he was mistreating you."

It was so quiet one could hear a pin drop, "…Dedric made a good luck doll especially for you. You made one for him too didn't you…didn't you?"

Hector had incurred the wrath of God. With a blood-curdling scream, Alyssa went flying out of what only could be the walls and assailed him. She was so angry. If she was concentrating on her sword play Hector wouldn't have stood a chance, but she was literally foamed at the mouth and swinging without a plan. Hector deflected her blind assaults with his rifle.

The fight carried out onto the steps getting Elaina's attention immediately, "Calvey!"

It was risky fighting on such fragile stairs but Hector wasn't afraid, Alyssa was off her game and more vulnerable than ever. Hopefully Lynn, Freesia and Ramona were all with him. The Countess forced him down the stairs, swinging blindly and shouting unconnected words and obscenities. Hector stabbed with the barrel of his rifle but she missed it and came back at him. Her blade nicked his shoulder.

"Don't let up now Alyssa!" Hector said with a smile.

They both descended the steps. Alyssa was screaming at the top of her lungs, fighting a two front battle against Hector and her own humanity. A false step almost sent her over the side but that didn't stop her, "You're going to die Hector! Do you hear me?"

Hector swung the butt of his rifle but she bent over and dodged. It was like he was swinging at a ghost, how could she be so fast? How could a girl her age be that skilled?

She prepared to bring her sword down on him as hard as she could. Hector brought up his rifle and watched the blade shatter against the Kar's wooden stock. It was all over, Alyssa's face went from red with anger to white with fear.

"W-what the?" she fell onto her backside and stared at the bare hilt of her sword.

"It's over."

Alyssa couldn't argue with the barrel of a rifle, but that evil smile of hers was in full bloom.

"Elysse!"

The door at the very top of the tower swung open and Hector remembered that Elysse was somehow taking Alyssa's orders. But she wasn't there, Welkin was, and he looked to be back in his usual good mood, "Hi there Countess!"

"What the hell?" Alyssa got up and threw her sword hilt in anger, "Where is she?"

Elysse was at the bottom of the tower just behind Hector's right leg. She wasn't alone either; she had a lance trained on the Countess. It was a trick, Elysse was on his side after all.

"Elysse, don't!"

"Smile, I hit hard!"

Her lance tip smashed into the stairway above everyone and the rest was a game of dominoes. Pieces of stone fell like rain collapsing lower staircases.

"Run!" shouted Elaina. Nobody needed to be told.

Hector's staircase was still intact but he was still sixty feet in the air. Enemies or not, they both need a plan.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Hector asked.

"We need to get off this staircase before it comes down!"

Both of them started running down the steps. Through the dust and debris Hector tried to spot a staircase below them. One ran underneath theirs and it was so close a child could make the jump.

"Found one, its right below us!"

Hector went to jump but Alyssa kicked him down, "Idiot. Enjoy the fall!"

Alyssa jumped to salvation and once she did, that stairway began to collapse like all the others. Hector watched it all while shouting every swear word he knew, "Damn it! Damn it!" There was no way down and the stairway he was on would collapse at any second, "DAMN IT!" His life flashed before him. He remembered everything, his life working in his town watch, the outbreak of the war, his often laughed at dream to start a shipping company, and most of all his friends. He wasn't going to die, he couldn't die. No sixteen year old brat was going to beat a soldier like him. The steps beneath his feet gave way. This was it, if something didn't break his fall; he had no chance of surviving.

* * *

Early morning in Maisel was no different than any other morning. The Gallian Militia was still parked around the castle, completely unaware of the events that unfolded within it last night. A blue tent was constructed at the heart of the militia's position for Captain Eleanor Varrot.

Elysse sat at a table with Welkin, Claudia and Ramsey. Captain Varrot did not look happy; she looked tired, dusty and confused.

"…Okay, just explain to me what I've missed."

Welkin cleared his throat, "The Reinhardt militia conspired to remove Countess Reinhardt from power and release Miss Moore. Alyssa resisted but everything was resolved, Alyssa's sister has agreed to run Maisel until her parents return."

"You're still not telling me what I want to know, you said there was an accident with casualties, one of which was Alyssa herself."

Elysse was glad when Welkin clarified, "Hector Calvey is alive, ma'am."

"With multiple fractures, blade and gunshot wounds. The medics say he'll have to be honorable discharged from the militia. What happened to Miss Reinhardt?"

"As I said, some of the castle's infrastructure collapsed and the Countess was killed."

Eleanor rubbed her face and groaned in frustration, "So in other words the Reinhardt family is going to come home and find a whole bunch of reasons to hate Gallia."

Elysse didn't think that was fair at all, not after what Alyssa did to them, but truth and politics tended to go like oil and water.

"Did you at least recover her body?"

"We couldn't, but I'm sure it will be once the debris is cleared."

Not the kind of news she wanted to hear, "Great, this is just what this country needs, more enemies. Dismissed."

Everyone emerged from the tent with mixed feelings. Elysse undid her ponytail and let her hair fall, she had done a good job burying her emotions and grief because in the end everything turned out alright. All that was left was for her to return to a normal life.

Ramsey yawned, "I guess I'll try and find my new squad. See ya Elysse…"

Welkin smiled at Claudia, "Come on, I'll introduce you to squad 7."

It looked like Claudia was being transferred to squad 7. Elysse had yet to learn what squad she was being transferred to, but she was too lazy to find out. She figured she'd try and find Hector. He was probably resting with the medics somewhere.

* * *

Hector was the only wounded soldier in the back of a troop truck modified to be an ambulance. Elysse saw him sleeping in a stretcher and woke him up with a few taps on the head.

"Ugh…Elysse. I like your hair."

"Thanks, how are you feeling?"

"Like a man too banged up to be any use to the militia."

"Don't think like that; just enjoy the feeling of going home."

Hector nodded and closed his eyes again for a moment, "I'm glad you're safe. So is she dead?"

"There's no way a girl her size could have survived all that concrete, we were lucky you survived."

"I see."

There was a pause. They were both tired but the show needed to go on, "Some adventure huh? I was hoping army life would help my character but…this pushed me to the limit."

"It pushed all of us to the limit Elysse. But it looks like it's all over now."

"Yeah. I want to apologize for giving you such a hard time too, my dad's a little over bearing and I guess I saw a little bit of that in you."

The wounded Lancer seemed to be a combination of relief and sorrow as he continued, "Don't worry, you're a good person and you've changed a lot. You don't even seem to be whining as much as you used to, and…"

"What's wrong?"

Hector panted and struggled to sit upright, "I've got a question about last night. When you fired your lance it looked like you were aiming for Alyssa but you hit the stairway."

Elysse's felt as cold as stone, "Yes?"

"Were you aiming for Alyssa or the stairway? If you would have just hit Alyssa those stairs may never have come down."

Why was Hector grilling her like this? It was really pissing her off.

"What are you trying to imply?"

Hector forced it out, "I'm asking if you were trying to kill Alyssa or not!"

"Look, it's over!" Elysse slammed her fist against the truck, "Just forget about it!"

"Okay, okay, I just wanted to ask…ugh!"

Hector fell back down winded. A girl with blonde hair and a hair band came running to his aid, "Mr. Calvey? I'm sorry, you have to give him some rest."

Elysse began to step back. She couldn't contain her feelings much longer, she had to get away before they boiled over, "Hector…I'll come see you after the war is over, I promise. I am a good person, and so are you!"

"Elysse?" Fina was trying to keep Hector from straining, "What's going on? Why are you acting like this?"

Elysse's throat swelled shut. She said all she could and now was the time to bolt before Hector saw through her.

* * *

She regrouped away from the militia by a big rock sticking out of the sand. She didn't go there to be alone; hiding behind the rock was a fellow Gallian soldier. Elysse wrinkled her brown and snapped, "Why are you wearing that uniform? I told you never to wear it again!"

Alyssa Reinhardt emerged from behind the rock while balancing a bullet on her finger, "Do I need to explain the concept of _Blending In_ to you dear?"

Elysse snatched the bullet from her finger, "I already lied to both my CO and Hector about you, just get out of here like you said you would."

Alyssa pulled out another bullet and tried to balance it like the last, "I will…"

"Are you scared to leave?"

Alyssa dropped the bullet and frowned, "A little. I can't face my parents after all I've done. My only chance is to run away. Maybe I'll join a Gallian army that doesn't know me."

"Just remember who you owe your life to. I could have killed you in that tower and everyone knows it."

"Of course…so what's next for you?"

"What do you care?"

Alyssa smirked and put her hands behind her back, "Planning to stick with the militia until the war is over? Planning on going home? Or maybe something else?"

For the past couple days Elysse had been trying to keep a terrible truth suppressed. Deep down, she shared a lot of Alyssa's feelings. A part of her hated the war and having to work like a slave in the army. A part of her hated her father and home life. A part of her wanted to do whatever she felt like. A part of her wanted to be just like Alyssa. But all those feelings were not dominate; at least not yet. Elysse turned her back on the former Countess, "We'll probably never see each other again. Have a nice life."

Alyssa wrapped her arms around her waist, "Elysse, the distance between us isn't as great as you think. We'll see each other again someday. And when that day comes, I hope we will be able to grow closer. People like you and I were born to be different, remember that."

She released her and began her long walk into the Barious desert. The sun was low in the east and waves of heat distorted the horizon. As soon as Alyssa was a few yards out Elysse turned around and headed back to the militia. She hoped Alyssa's creepy compliments didn't stay with her, she and her were nothing alike. Elysse Moore was just another Lancer in the Gallian militia, just another teenager who needed a cattle prod to do anything. Despite all this, the thought of ditching the militia to do whatever she wanted thrilled her like nothing else.


End file.
